Back to the Old School
by Nisa Tunesque
Summary: Musa & Tegryn, Part 2: Things are sweet for Musa and her new boyfriend Tegryn... he's learning the basics of magic, they're making new friends, and their romance continues to blossom nicely... trust Darcy and the other witches to try and ruin things!
1. The New Student

**This story is the sequel to Lost in Love**** and is the second in a series of stories charting the romance and adventures of Musa and her new boyfriend Tegryn. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was a typical springtime Monday morning - Alfea basked in the early sun as it gently warmed up the last dregs of night air. Bloom, Flora, Stella, Tecna and Layla were half-asleepily tucking into their breakfast and getting themselves ready for another day of study, when suddenly Musa and Tegryn burst in. 

"Hey guys, have we got some wicked news for you!" gasped Musa, out of breath.

"Oh yes? What is it?"

Musa giggled. "Go on Teggy, show them!"

Tegryn held out a letter - Bloom took it and read it out loud.

_To: Tegryn Devanallt_

_After much deliberation, the board of Alfea School for Fairies has decided to accept you as a new student - this letter is our formal notification of your admission into the Junior grade._

_With regards to your request for extra-curricular personal tuition, I have decided this would indeed be the best way to fully develop your powers and to catch up with your new classmates. Given this, along with the fact that you would be the only male student, it has been decided that it would be most appropriate for you to board within the teacher's quarters - I have arranged for a single room to be made ready for you as soon as possible._

_I look forward to working with you, and I have every faith that you will rise to the challenge._

_May Alfea teach you well._

_Ms. Faragonda  
Principal, Alfea School for Fairies._

The girls gave a collective excited scream.

"So you're staying here for good? That is SO cool!" said Flora happily.

"Yes, welcome aboard! Just don't think you can get us to help you with your homework - you'll have to do all that yourself!" added Tecna. "The teachers here can spot cheating a mile off!"

"Heh" Tegryn chuckled. "Griselda's already warned me about that... and something tells me I don't want to get on her wrong side!"

"Well there's the understatement of the year," quipped Stella. "Say, have you had any breakfast?"

"Oh, yes thanks, I ate hours ago." he yawned. "I didn't get much sleep last night, so I got up early. In fact, I haven't been sleeping well at all lately."

"Oh" said Musa with a concerned look on her face. "Is anything the matter?"

"No, no. I'm sure it's nothing much - nothing for you to worry about anyway" he replied rather unconvincingly. "Maybe I'm just a bit nervous, what with this being my first day and all."

"Aw come on, what's there to be nervous about? I'm sure you'll get on fine!"

"It's not the lessons I'm worried about - it's this!"

Tegryn reached into his pocket and pulled out a floor plan of the castle.

"Aaaah, I see," said Musa as she guessed what he was referring to - his sense of direction was still as bad as ever. "It looks like I'd better walk you to your first class - we wouldn't want you getting lost now, would we?"


	2. First Class

As they sauntered down the corridor, Tegryn looked around him in amazement. "I've said it before and I'll say it again - this sure is a beautiful place... but who on earth designed it? Finding my way around here is going to be impossible!"

A familiar, kind voice piped up behind them. "Yes, I'm sure it's a little daunting at first, but in time you'll become quite familiar." They looked around to see the friendly face of Principal Faragonda.

"Ah, good morning Principal."

"And a good morning to you Tegryn. And please, 'Miss Faragonda' will do just fine."

"Sorry!"

Faragonda chuckled "Now then, your class are just starting a new assignment. I'll be pairing you with another new student - she's a very sweet girl and very clever, but painfully shy. I hope that you'll help bring her out of her shell somewhat."

"Sure, I'll try my best."

"Right, here we are. I'll just introduce you to the class - shall we?"

"I'll be right with you."

Tegryn took Musa's hands in his own and kissed her tenderly. "Well, this is it." They kissed again, completely oblivious to everything else (including the fact that they had an audience).

"A-hem! Musa, Tegryn - there'll be plenty of time for that AFTER classes!"

They both blushed.

"Awww, now look what you've done - you got me into trouble on my first day!" Tegryn joked. Musa playfully jabbed him in the stomach. "So, I'll be seeing you at lunch then?"

"You bet! I'll save you a seat - see ya Teggy!"

"See ya Princess!"

He waved as she ran down the hallway to her own class, then turned and prepared himself.

"Girls, this is your new classmate Tegryn."

Tegryn walked into the room to be greeted by what seemed like hundreds of pairs of female eyes, all fixated on him. Hushed whispers could be heard - "He's dating a senior - how cool!"... "Ooh, he's cute!"... "I wonder what magic he can do!"... "He doesn't look like a fairy to me."

Faragonda responded to that last comment. "Tegryn here may not have the body of a fairy, but he certainly has the heart of one. Tegryn - if you wouldn't mind?"

He sat himself down at the only empty seat in the room, at a workbench next to a petite girl with reddish-brown hair and a large red ribbon tied in a bow. Her head was buried in a book about dragons.

"Hi!" he introduced himself, "I'm Tegryn."

She peered up from her book, adjusting her small glasses. She said nothing, just gave a nervous smile.

"And your name is?"

"Charlotte" she said timidly.

"Well I'm very pleased to meet you Charlotte. Listen... I'm very new at all this magic and my study skills are rather rusty so I'm going to need you to hold my hand, so to speak - I mean, not literally of course... I don't think my girlfriend would like that!"

Charlotte let out a little giggle.

Faragonda began the lesson. "Now then class, if you'll just open your textbooks..." 


	3. Lunchtime Larks

The main hall of Alfea buzzed with hundreds of voices. It was lunchtime, with the students sat at long tables and the staff sat at a table at the head of the hall as usual. Tegryn and his new classmates entered the hall and proceeded to grab their meals.

Over all the noise and chatter, he could hear a faint call - "Hey Teggy... over here!" Looking around, he eventually saw his sweetheart waving and pointing to a gap next to her, so he went over to her... but then something stopped him... or rather, someone.

"And where do you think YOU'RE going, young man?"

Griselda blocked his way, glaring at him through her horn-rimmed spectacles.

"I'm just going to sit over there" he said, pointing to Musa and the girls.

"Oh no you don't, you're sitting with the rest of your grade."

"But Musa's saved me a..."

"No buts! Just because you're bigger and uglier than the rest of us, it doesn't entitle you to special treatment, especially not from me. You're here to eat, not make gooshy lovey-dovey eyes at your girlfriend. Now sit!"

Tegryn looked over at his love and shrugged his shoulders, then sat down next to Charlotte and the others, chaperoned by Griselda who then returned to her place at the teacher's table.

As soon as her back was turned, Tegryn spun around in his seat and waved at Musa. As soon as she spotted him, he pointed to his eye.

"What's he doing? Has he got something in his eye?" asked Layla.

"No. Look."

He pointed at his eye again...

"I..."

He then placed his hand on his chest...

"...love..."

And then, he pointed straight at Musa.

"Awww, he loves YOU!" laughed Layla. "How cute."

Musa replied, first pointing to her eye, then to her chest, then pointing at Tegryn, and finishing off by holding two fingers up.

"I... love... you... too!"

Quiet giggles sprang up around the dinner hall.

"What's going on?" Griselda snapped. "Tegryn, your dinner's in front of you, not behind you!"

"Sorry, I thought I had dropped a slice of bread... oh, will you look at that... it was on my plate all along!"

More sniggers and giggles.

He gave one final glance over to Musa and blew her a kiss before turning around to his well-earned meal. Tegryn addressed his classmates sat around him.

"Listen, I'm going to be moving into my new room after classes have finished, and then we're having a little room-warming party - I'd love it if you guys could come."

"Wow! That'd be so cool!" said Anyuna, a confident-looking girl with long jet black hair. "Who else is coming?"

"Well, Musa and the girls obviously, and some of our friends from Red Fountain."

"Ooh, Red Fountain boys! Count us in!" squealed Mimi and Nini, two near-identical twins who just happened to be from Musa's homeworld. They were alike in almost every way - they had the same straight brown hair, the same hazel eyes, the same taste in clothes and music - even their voices were nearly identical. If it wasn't for their slightly different taste in accessories, they'd be impossible to tell apart - for example, Mimi liked to wear a green braid in her hair whilst Nini preferred blue... or was it the other way round?

"Charlotte, you'll be coming too, won't you?"

"I, um, I dunno... I don't really go to many parties."

"Aw, come on! You're my study-buddy - you have to come! I'll sulk if you don't."

She gave a nervous laugh. "Okay then... if you insist." 


	4. Party Time!

The room-warming party was in full swing - dance music was blasting out of Tegryn's new stereo, and everyone was mixing well and having a good time. Musa was sat on a couch with Tegryn sat on the floor beside her with his arm hugging her leg. Charlotte was sat next to Musa, and the two were having a good old-fashioned girly chat.

"Aren't you worried about the teachers complaining about the noise?" asked Charlotte.

"No, it's alright" Tegryn cut in, "Musa's taught me a really cool soundproofing spell. We can have the music on as loud as we want, and no-one outside the room will hear a thing!"

"Oh, that's okay then." She turned to Musa and said quietly. "Say, I've been meaning to ask something... who's that guy over there?", pointing towards a familiar figure chatting with the other boys.

"Oh, that's Riven... and in case you're wondering, he IS single."

"Riven..." she said quietly, staring none-too-subtly in his direction.

"Charlotte? Charlotte!"

"Ooh, I think someone has a little crush!"

Charlotte blushed, then changed the subject with a none-too-subtle crunching of gears. The girls carried on chatting while Tegryn stifled a yawn.

"Are you alright dear?" asked Tune, putting a hand on his knee. "You seem rather tired."

"Oh, I'll be fine. I guess it's been a long day."

"Well just take it easy, okay? We wouldn't want you doing yourself harm - Musa worries so much about you."

"I know - she's a real sweetie" he said happily, resting his head on her thigh...

The party carried on uninterrupted, until a small whimpering noise could be heard above the music and chatter. It was Piff, who up until now was sound asleep nestled in Layla's arms. Now though, she was sniffling and straining to reach out for something.

"What is it Piff?" asked Layla. Piff looked towards Tegryn.

"Tegryn? Is he asleep?"

"Yes, it looks like it..." said Layla staring at his face, "But I don't think he's too happy."

She was right. His breathing was erratic and he could be heard murmuring something. Then, with no warning at all, he let out a blood-curdling yell at the top of his voice and sat bolt upright. His face was an expression of pure terror - his skin was pale, his eyes wide open, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

"Teggy!" cried Musa trying to comfort him, "What happened?" 


	5. Tegryn's Nightmare

Tegryn said nothing. Musa could feel his whole body shaking uncontrollably - he was in shock.

"He must've had a very intense nightmare" said Layla as she cradled a sobbing Piff. "I wonder what it was about."

"Teggy... can you tell us?"

Nothing.

"I might be able to help," said Anyuna, stepping forward. "I should be able to read his dreams - all of us Dream Realm fairies can."

With that, she knelt in front of him, placed her hands on his head and closed her eyes.

"It's cold... the sky is grey..." she began. "He's in a forest... by a lake... he's afraid... laying on his back, he's in terrible pain... he can't move... he's been attacked... "

"It's a flashback" gasped Musa, "He's dreaming of when he first came to this realm, when those damn witches nearly killed him!"

Anyuna continued.

"Yes... there are three girls standing in front of him... evil, so evil... a girl dressed all in black is coming forward... standing over him... she's saying something... he can barely hear it... 'I trust you haven't forgotten about me - I'll be seeing you soon'..."

"I'll be seeing you soon? Oh great - what are they up to now?"

"She's reaching towards him... towards his head... her hand is glowing... she touches him..." Anyuna winced. "The pain! He's in such terrible pain, worse than he's ever felt before! That... that's it... that's all I see."

"But why is he having such bad dreams?" asked Bloom, "He's been so happy lately."

"That dream was not his own," Anyuna said glumly, shaking her head. "Dark magic is at work here - it's as though something has invaded his mind."

"It's not the first time they've done that," said Musa, remembering the Trix's last attack on his dreams. "But he was able to defend himself so well back then - how were they able to overpower him this time?"

"Stronger," Tegryn mumbled, still trembling. "Their spell was stronger... too strong... I couldn't fight back..."

They sat him up on the sofa, and Flora handed him a cup containing her own herbal recipe. "Here, drink this, it'll help to sooth you."

Tegryn cradled the cup in his hands, taking small sips. "I'm so sorry about this... I hate being such a party pooper!" he joked weakly.

"How long have you been having these dreams?"

"About a week now. I've been getting them two or three times a night, but never this bad. They haven't actually said anything to me before though, they were just messing with my head."

"Oh Teggy," said Musa stifling a tear "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to worry you. I was hoping I'd be able to get through this... looks like I was wrong. And to be honest I'm not sure what anyone could do about this."

"I have a spell that might be able to help you," said Tecna. "May I?"

Tegryn nodded. Tecna raised her hand - a field of energy enveloped Tegryn's head.

"It's a slight variation on my Firewall spell that I've been working on" she explained. "Instead of protecting the body, this will protect the mind, preventing unwanted intrusions in the same way a firewall program prevents unwanted intrusions into a computer."

"Well, it looks like you're going to be okay now," Riven said to Tegryn, patting him on the shoulder. "Thanks for inviting us... and if I see those witches, I'll give them a good kicking from you!"

Tegryn laughed. "Thanks mate."

"Okay, we'll see you guys round. We'd better be getting back - the last thing we need is a detention for staying out after hours."

Riven glanced towards Charlotte - Charlotte blushed and smiled shyly back at him.

The Juniors soon followed, leaving the girls as they tidied the room. Tegryn laid out on the sofa with his head resting on Musa's lap as she lovingly ran her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes, finally reaching some sort of tranquillity.

"Why would the witches still be bothered about you?" Musa wondered. "Surely they remember what happened last time. If they had half a brain cell between them, they'd be scared stiff of you! Your power is so awesome!"

"I wish that was true, but the only time I've been able to use that power was back in the cave when you were hurt - I was so angry and I couldn't control it. Ever since then, I've been trying to practice that attack but just I can't do it. And those witches... I just know they're planning something, and I wouldn't be much use in a fight unless you were badly hurt again... and I sure as hell don't want that to happen."

Musa sighed. "Let's just hope THEY don't know that." 


	6. The Trix Go Shopping

A couple of days (and a couple of restful nights) later, Tegryn was back to his old self. Tecna's spell had worked a treat and he was no longer being bothered by those nightmares, but he was still feeling uneasy. He (and everyone else) knew the witches were up to something... but he decided there's no worrying about it too much - he'll just cross that bridge when he gets to it.

It was the weekend now, and he had gone over to the girls' rooms to see if Musa was ready. He had just bumped into Flora and told her that the two of them were going on a romantic date. In reality they were heading to Aquisites - Flora's birthday was fast approaching and they were desperate to find her the best present possible.

A few hours later, the two of them emerged from one of the many shops they had visited, fully laden with shopping bags and with beaming smiles on their faces.

"Flora is going to LOVE this present! I can't believe we managed to get it!"

"I know - and the last one in the shop too! How lucky was that?"

"Come on, let's grab something to eat, then we'll head back home and start wrapping."

"Yo! Teggy MC rockin da house alongside DJ Musa! Original nuttahs in full effect!"

Musa rolled her eyes and groaned. "Not THAT kind of rapping, dummy!"

As they turned the corner, they saw Helia standing in front of one of the more prestigious jewellery stores. As they got closer, they could see he was looking at a beautiful gold necklace set with green and red gems.

"Wow! Now that is gorgeous!" said Tegryn. "Is that going to be your present to Flora?"

"Yes. Do you think she'll like it?"

"Of course!" Musa replied. "She'd love you forever if you gave her THAT!"

"Yeah," Tegryn added, an idea screeching into his brain. "And you know what would go well with that necklace? One of your famous poems."

"A poem?"

"Oh yes, she'd really appreciate that!" said Musa. "A poem telling her just how wonderful she is!"

"And the best thing is, it's a present that could only come from YOU!"

"Yes... yes, that is a good idea - thanks guys!" beamed Helia as he went into the shop.

Musa and Tegryn carried on - after their little good deed and all that shopping, they were in the mood for some fast food, so they started off towards a hot dog stall located at the corner of a small park. As they crossed the green space laughing and joking, Tegryn suddenly felt something... something odd. He stopped and dropped his bags.

"Erm, Musa?"

"Yes?"

"A little help here please?"

"What's wrong?"

"I can't move!"

"What?"

It was true - something had a invisible grip on Tegryn, rooting him to the spot - he was totally unable to move his body, arms or legs. Musa tried to move him, but he was well and truly stuck where he stood. As they struggled to free him, a sinister voice rang out behind them.

"Lord Darkar requests the displeasure of your company!"

Musa turned around - there stood by a bush were their least favourite witches. She noticed Darcy's attentions were deeply focused on Tegryn, and she quickly realised what was going on - she was casting a telekinesis spell on him.

"You again!" growled Musa. "Let him go, NOW!"

"I don't think so," said Icy, waving her hand. A portal appeared behind Tegryn and, with a flick of Darcy's wrist, he was flung through it.

"No!" cried Musa, trying vainly to keep hold of him. In a final act of desperation, she unleashed her Subwoofer Blast at Darcy in an attempt to break her hold. The blast hit her squarely in the shoulder - but it was useless... Tegryn was already gone.

"Musa! What's happening?" Musa turned to see Bloom and Sky racing towards her.

"Heh, more pixies to play with!" sneered Stormy, preparing to attack.

"No, we don't have time for this!" snapped Icy. "We have what we came for... let's go!" A portal appeared behind them, and they soon disappeared.

Musa sank to her knees, crying.

"What happened?"

"Teggy... they've got Teggy..." 


	7. The Dark Host

Tegryn strained his eyes, trying to make out his new surroundings - he was being held in a small dark cell, the only light trickling in from a small barred hole in the door. He tried to move, but he was pinned to the wall by what he assumed was the same telekinetic force that Darcy used on him before.

He heard voices outside. With a loud clunk, the door opened and a trio of familiar but unwelcome silhouettes strode into the room.

"I trust you are most UNcomfortable!"

"Just what do you think you're doing? Why did you drag me here?"

"They brought you here because I told them to!" a voice boomed from outside. Tegryn looked - a dark, ominous figure was stood in the doorway.

"Don't tell me - you're here to provide light entertainment, right?"

Darkar walked into the cell and towered over Tegryn.

"You're here because you have something I want."

"And what would that be?"

"Your power. These three told me about the great power you unleashed during their last encounter with you - I want it for myself!" Darkar made his way towards Tegryn, his hand outstretched as though he wanted to grab him by the head... but then stopped.

"I thought you said this man was powerful."

"But he is..."

"There is no power here. A small spark of magic, but no real power. You've wasted my time." With that, Darkar made his way angrily from the cell.

The witches were dumbfounded.

"How did you do that?" Stormy snarled.

"Do what?"

"Hide your powers like that?"

Tegryn chuckled. "I have no idea what you're talking about! Ah well, seeing as I'm completely useless to you, you may as well let me go."

Darcy shook her head. "I know what's happened here. He may be strong, but this guy is just a novice - he can't control his powers properly yet."

"Yeah... so?"

"Don't you remember? That power only manifested itself when I hurt his precious little girlfriend."

A wicked idea dawned on Icy. "Aha! So if we want to see his powers again..."

"...we have to hurt Musa again!" Stormy added. "And I dare say she and her little friends will try to rescue him - all we have to do is wait for them to come to us!"

They walked out cackling evilly, leaving a horrified Tegryn to digest what he just heard. 


	8. A Witch's Kiss

This was a very bad situation, very bad indeed. Tegryn's mind was working overtime trying to figure a way out of this. What should he do? He couldn't break out of here - being magically pinned to the wall made that rather difficult. Even if he wasn't, his magic wasn't strong enough - he wouldn't make it past the cell door. Oh, if only there was some way to warn Musa of the danger she could be facing...

His train of thought was broken by someone opening the door.

"Darcy! What do you want now?"

Darcy walked up to him and stared into his eyes.

"Come now... why the hostility?"

"Tsch. You want a list?"

Darcy chuckled and raised her hand, bringing it towards his head. Tegryn grimaced - he knew what was coming... or so he thought.

Hmmm... no agony, no excruciating pain. She was... caressing his cheek? What on earth was she doing?

"It's almost a shame we have to be on different sides. You must be so desperate to develop your skills... if you would just join us, we could increase your powers just like that!"

"You are joking, aren't you? I mean, you dragged me here to steal my powers, and now you say you want to restore them? I wasn't born yesterday! Besides, you've already tried getting me to join you once before and failed back then - what makes you think you'll succeed now?"

Darcy tutted as she ran her cold fingers through his tousled hair. "We don't have to be enemies, you know."

"Well, let me go and maybe then we could think about a truce."

"No, no, I couldn't do that. If I did release you, I wouldn't be able to do this!"

With that, she pulled his head forward and kissed him passionately for what seemed to Tegryn like an eternity. He screwed his eyes tightly shut, straining to free himself and end this unwanted kiss, but Darcy's spell had too tight a grip - she was dictating this turn of events, not him.

Eventually she let go, and Tegryn spluttered. Being snogged by a witch certainly ranked highly on his 'least pleasant experience' charts, especially when she's just had garlic for her lunch.

"What on earth was THAT for? Are you mad?"

Darcy looked at him with her usual malice. Making her way out of the cell, she said "One day you'll learn to appreciate me... even if I have to hypnotise you into doing so!"

An idea quickly came to Tegryn. "You know what? I might appreciate you a little bit more if you released me from this holding spell of yours. I mean, what's the point of keeping me trussed up me like this? It's not as if I can force my way out of this cell."

"Hmph. I suppose so. Even if you did have your powers, you wouldn't be able to break the door down - it's magically sealed." She waved her hand and released Tegryn before slamming the cell door shut. He fell to the ground in a heap, wiping his mouth - at least that little inconvenience was over.

Now all he had to do was to think of a way out. He strained his eyes, trying to make out the walls in the dim light, and it was just then he got a sudden feeling that he wasn't alone in here. All too soon, he became aware of a eerie purple glow that was slowly filling the cell.

"Oh great" he thought to himself, "Now what?" 


	9. Tegryn's Little Saviour

Tegryn looked behind him - a rather odd-looking purple vortex was taking shape in the far corner. Being naturally wary of all things purple and odd-looking he started to back away... then things started to get a little bit odder.

The vortex addressed him. "I'm glad I found you."

"You are?"

"Yes. Just walk through this portal and I will explain everything."

Tegryn started to walk towards it, then stopped. "Hang on a minute. How do I know this isn't just those witches pulling another trick?"

The vortex tutted indignantly. "Are you daring to suggest that I'm in league with those three? How preposterous."

"Well, after everything that's happened so far today, I wouldn't put anything past them. So? How do I know you've nothing to do with them?"

"You'll just have to trust me. After all, do you have any better ideas for getting out of there?"

"Hmmm... I suppose you're right - it's not as if I have many options open right now. Okay, you've convinced me - I'm coming through."

With that, Tegryn tentatively stepped through the portal. Almost immediately, he found himself in a large, intimidating room lit by a row of torches that cast flickering shadows onto the stone walls. It certainly wasn't the most welcoming of places, but it was a darn sight better than where he'd just been.

"Well?" said Tegryn, his voice echoing across the room. "Where am I?"

"You are in Cloud Tower."

"Cloud Tower? You mean the school for witches? Oh great - out of the frying pan and into the same smegging frying pan." he said, quoting one of his favourite Sci-Fi comedy books (albeit incorrectly).

A chuckle echoed from the darkness of the far corner. "You needn't worry... no harm will come to you here, not whilst you're with me."

"And who are you exactly?" he asked as he walked in the direction of the voice.

"Very well, allow me to introduce myself." A few tiny steps came closer to him, and a tiny, bizarrely-dressed figure stepped out of the shadows.

"I am Discorda." 


	10. I Am Discorda

"You're a pixie?"

"Yes, I am the guardian of the Cloud Tower Codex."

"Which is?"

"A very powerful source of magic, one that those witches would dearly love to get their hands on."

"Ah, I see."

Discorda looked Tegryn up and down and tutted. "I must say... for someone so much in demand, you dress rather drably."

Tegryn looked at her in astonishment. "Well, I wasn't planning on getting kidnapped today - if I was, maybe I'd have worn something smarter - maybe a tuxedo would be more to your liking?"

"Please don't take that sarcastic tone with me young man."

"I'm sorry, but what do you expect? I've been kidnapped, then that Darcy... actually I'd rather not mention THAT... and now I've been dragged here just so you can rip my dress sense to shreds? Why did you bring me here anyway?"

"I brought you here because I would like your help in guarding the Codex."

"And how am I supposed to do that? Surely you know my magic powers are pretty small."

"Only because you haven't learned how to connect to them yet. I can teach you."

"You can? How can do you that? I was only able to use my power when I got angry."

"Yes, I know... your magic is linked to your love for Musa. Emotion-based magic can be difficult to master, but it can be done."

"But.. Musa isn't here... MUSA!" A worried look suddenly found it's way onto Tegryn's face. "I have to warn Musa! I have to let her know what's going on. I have to let her know I'm safe. Argh - how am I supposed to do that?"

"Allow me," said Discorda as she jumped up onto his shoulder and placed her small hands on his head. "All you have to do is focus your mind on her. Concentrate. Yes... that's it." 


	11. Long Distance Call

Bloom put her arm around Musa as she and Sky led her into Alfea Castle. Being the kind-hearted fairy that she was, she was always concerned for her friends' well-being and hated seeing them so upset. 

"I can't believe they did that."

As they headed towards their rooms, they spotted Charlotte coming towards them. The smile on her face soon vanished when she saw Musa's tears.

"Musa? What happened?"

"Teggy's been kidnapped. Those witches have taken him to Darkar's castle." she explained.

Charlotte gasped and held her hands over in mouth. "Oh my! This is terrible. I'm sure he's okay though."

"No doubt about that." said Sky. "Listen, I'm going back to Red Fountain to get the others. I'll be back as quick as I can."

"And I have to tell the others." said Charlotte. "Don't worry Musa, Tegryn will be back home soon, I'm sure of it."

Soon afterwards, the Red Fountain boys and Winx girls were gathered together, ready to launch their rescue - but just as they were ready to leave, Musa started looking around in a rather peculiar fashion.

"What is it?"

"I don't know, I'm just getting this rather odd feeling."

_'Musa?'_

Musa jumped. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

_'Musa? Can you hear me?'_

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Stella with a puzzled look on her face

"It sounded like... no, I must be hearing things."

_'Musa, it's me.'_

"Teggy?"

_'Hey... how's it going?'_

Musa gasped. "It IS you! Guys, Teggy's talking me to me!"

"How?" Bloom asked.

"Yes, how?"

_'Oh, it's a telepathic thing. Don't quite understand it, but who cares?'_

"Oh Teggy, I've been so worried. Are you alright? Have those witches hurt you?"

_'Don't worry, I'm fine. They didn't hurt me, although Darcy did her best to make me sick. Take my advice - if a witch offers to kiss you, run away!'_

"She KISSED you? Ewwww! And you let her? Teggy, how could you?"

_'I didn't have much of a choice, she still had me held in that holding spell. I couldn't do much about it. You have to believe me!'_

"I don't know. You promised me I was the only one..."

_'Please! I'm begging you...'_

"Hey chill out, I was only joking!"

_'Aw man, you had me worried there! Listen, I have to warn you - whatever you do, do NOT go to Darkar's Castle.'_

"But we have to get you out. Why can't we go there?"

_'Cos those witches WANT you to come. They want to harm you just to get at me, just like they did last time. Anyway, I'm not there any more.'_

"What do you mean?"

_'I escaped, with a bit of help.'_

"Really? You escaped? Oh, that's brilliant! So where are you?"

_'I'm in Cloud Tower, with a new friend.'_

"Hey, he's at Cloud Tower! But why are you there?"

_'It's a long sto...'_ All of a sudden, his voice faded.

"Teggy? Teggy, what's wrong?"

_'Argh. I'm finding it hard to keep this link going - this IS my first time after all. Look, I can't keep this up much longer. I'll be back home soon, okay? I just a few things to do here first. Just hang tight, sweetie.'_

"Okay, I'll see you soon. I love you Teggy!"

_'I love you too! Bye...'_

Musa jumped happily around the room.

"YES! He's safe! And he said he'll be home soon."

The friends erupted into a little cheer. Musa sighed... she (and everyone else) was so relieved that he was safe, not to mention very glad that they didn't have to go on some daring mission after all.

"I'd better tell Charlotte and the others the good news!"

So off she ran with a spring in her step... but when she got to the junior girls' lounge, a nasty shock awaited her - she had arrived just in time to see Charlotte and the others about to step through an open portal.

"Hey guys, where are you going?"

Charlotte smiled "We're going to Darkar's castle to get Tegryn back!"

"That's right" Anyuna added. "It shouldn't be TOO difficult - after all, we outnumber those witches four to three."

"No, wait! You don't understand..."

"Hey, chill out Melody-sis!" said Mimi, cutting in.

"Yeah, we'll have your Teggy back before you know it!" Nini added.

Musa shouted desperately "BUT HE'S NOT... there."

Too late.

The girls had already disappeared, closing the portal behind them. Musa groaned... it looks like they'll be going on a daring rescue mission after all.


	12. We're The Starz

Anyuna, Charlotte, Mimi and Nini crept warily through the castle, looking around them tentatively at every little sound.

"Wow, this place is SO creepy." remarked Mimi.

"I know", Charlotte replied. "I'm not sure this is such a good idea."

"Shh!" whispered Anyuna "Keep quiet, will you? We won't find Tegryn if anyone finds us first."

"I suppose so. The sooner we get him and get out of here, the better!"

They turned a corner into a dimly-lit corridor. There at the end stood three ominous figures.

"I'm afraid you girls won't be doing THAT any time soon!" laughed Icy.

"Hmph. They're sending in baby pixies now?" said Darcy, looking bemused at the young fairies that now confronted them.

"Baby pixies?" said Anyuna. "We're the Starz!"

"Yeah, whatever. I guess the others are too scared of us!" Stormy gloated. "Hey Teggy! It looks like your precious Musa couldn't be bothered to rescue you!" she shouted towards the now-empty cell. "Some girlfriend she turned out to be!"

No reply.

"What's the matter Teggy?" Darcy sneered. "No witty comebacks? Too upset, huh? It looks like you made the wrong choice!"

Anyuna yelled "That's enough! No-one does that to our friends and gets away with it!"

"Hmmm. You will excuse us if we don't wet ourselves in fear, won't you?"

Charlotte stepped forward with a fire in her eyes and undid the large ribbon tied in her hair.

"So what are you going to do, little girl? Tickle us?" the witches taunted.

"You can laugh all you like, but you won't be laughing much longer." Charlotte replied as she swirled her ribbon above her head. "Flame Ribbon!"

Without any warning, the ribbon erupted into a bright red flame. She cracked the ribbon like a whip, and a large fireball shot out straight at Icy. She ducked out of the way just in time, and the fireball slammed into the wall at the end of the corridor. Icy picked herself up and glared at the young fire fairy.

Charlotte laughed. Icy looked confused for a moment, then became aware of an acrid burning smell. Her long, flowing white pony-tail was on fire!

"Give him back to us NOW!" shouted Charlotte.

"It'll take more than a party trick to beat us!"

"Okay, you asked for it... Fire Storm!"

She twirled her ribbon around and around, faster and faster until a fiery tornado started to form, spitting out huge sparks in the witches' direction. Slowly, the scorching wind surrounded the three witches as they shielded themselves against the blistering heat and red-hot embers.

"Grrr! Enough playing around!" snarled Icy. Waving her hand, she cast her Ice Coffin spell at Charlotte's ribbon, encasing it in ice. It dropped to the floor and shattered into hundreds of small pieces. Charlotte gave a little yelp of pain and looked at her hand - her entire right forearm was also encased in ice. Being a fire fairy, having her arm frozen wasn't exactly her favourite feeling in the world.

With the fire spell broken, the heat soon dissipated and the witches picked themselves up, drenched in sweat and their hair singed. They had sorely underestimated the brave young girls, but they won't be making that mistake again - now they meant business. 


	13. Playtime's Over

"Your playtime's over, little pixies!" Darcy taunted.

"And now it's our turn!" added Stormy as she prepared to combine her powers with her dark sister to cast an Electric Twister. The powerful spell slammed into the unsuspecting girls, knocking them flying.

They barely had enough time to pick themselves up when Icy unleashed a barrage of Ice Darts in their direction. They cowered on the floor as they were pelted from all sides by the frozen projectiles before Mimi bravely stood up to face the onslaught.

"Harmonic Shield!" she cried, raising her hand to create a magical barrier which the ice darts just bounced off harmlessly.

"Phew! Well done Mimi!" said Anyuna, standing up rather shakily. "That was getting rather painful. Now it's time to dazzle them with our skills... Aura Flash!"

A ultra-bright beam of light shone from her hand and straight into the Trix's faces, blinding them, and buying Mimi and Nini the time to prepare themselves for one of their speciality attacks.

"Sine Wave!" The witches clasped their hands over their ears, trying to block out the deafening noise from Mimi's spell. They grimaced from the pain, fearing their eardrums were about to burst.

"Aww! I don't think they dig my sound!" joked Mimi.

Clutching her twin's hand, Nini added "Maybe they'll prefer it in stereo... Double Sine Wave!"

The first wave was bad enough, but now the two sisters had combined their powers. The witches gasped in pain as the ear-splitting spell doubled in intensity.

"And now it's time to finish this!" Anyuna said, drawing her right hand behind her before throwing it out in a dramatic flourish. "Dream Dust!"

A sparkling cloud of dust surged out and settled over the three stricken witches. Slowly they began to drop as the sleep powder took effect.

"It's over!" said Anyuna triumphantly. "Now lets get Teggy out of here!"

"It's... not... over yet!" said Stormy, drawing on her last reserves of energy. A gentle breeze started to blow down the corridor, gathering enough strength to blow the cloud of dust away from the witches and straight towards the Starz girls. They coughed and tried desperately to cover their faces, but it was too late - the spell which was intended for the witches was now affecting them instead. Charlotte was the first to fall, slumping down where she stood into a deep sleep, her arm still frozen.

Icy picked herself up and cruelly unleashed another hail of Ice Darts towards the already-defeated girls. Barely able to stay awake, the two twins cast a combined Harmonic Shield, but the effects of the backfired Dream Dust spell was severely affecting their strength. They struggled to maintain their barrier under the relentless power of Icy's attack.

Icy laughed cruelly. "I can keep this up all day, pixies! How about you? What have you got to say now?"

"I'd say the cavalry has arrived!"

Looking down the corridor behind the stricken girls, Anyuna could just make out the Winx Club girls and Red Fountain boys racing to their aid.

"Thank goodness!" she said as she finally fell to the floor. 


	14. A Timely Rescue

The friends confronted the witches, Musa fixing her attentions on Darcy.

"So" said Darcy addressing Musa with a wicked glint in her eye. "You finally came to rescue your boyfriend. How sickeningly sweet."

Musa smiled. "Rescue him? Oh no, we didn't come here to rescue him, we came to rescue our friends here."

"What do you mean, you didn't come here to rescue him? Don't tell me you got bored of him already."

"You know that'll never happen! Teggy and I are together forever!"

"So why aren't you here for him?"

"Heh. Haven't you noticed?" Musa said, barely able to stop herself laughing. "He isn't here! He escaped ages ago!"

"WHAT? That's impossible!" Darcy raced over to the cell and peered inside. It was true - the cell was indeed empty. "But... how did you know?"

"He told me - he's safe with a friend. He also told me about what you tried to do."

"Hmph. If we want to steal his powers, we'll do it. It's not as if we need your permission."

"No no no, that's not what I'm talking about. You know what I mean - you kissed him!"

Icy and Stormy looked at Darcy with a look of horror on their faces.

"You KISSED him! How disgusting."

Darcy, humiliated and looking ever-angrier by the second, ignored their sickened looks and said to Musa "It doesn't matter. We'll just have to have YOU as our guest instead. We know you're the key to his powers, and one way or another Lord Darkar will get what he wants."

"We'll just see about that!"

But just as the two groups were about to face off, two new voices made themselves heard at the far end of the corridor.

"Hey guys, I'm home... ah. Oh dear... this doesn't look like Alfea at all."

"Hmmm. Judging by the gloominess of the decor, it appears we're back in Darkar's Castle."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding! Great... even when it comes to portals, my sense of direction sucks!"

Upon hearing this, Musa span around. Could it be? 


	15. Playing Chicken

Sure enough, in the shadows at the far end of the corridor stood a familiar young man with a tiny figure on his shoulder.

"TEGGY!"

He turned around just as Musa ran across and took him in a tight embrace, nearly squeezing the breath out of his lungs.

"Oh I'm so glad you're alright!"

"You know me, I have a habit of finding my way eventually." he said, returning the hug. "But hang on a minute... I told you not to come here, didn't I?"

"I know. It's a long story." she started to explain, but then she noticed he had company. She looked up to see Discorda looking down at her in her typically high-and-mighty fashion. She enjoyed having such a high pedestal - being able to look down upon people suited her perfectly.

"Ah, so this must be your friend. Thank you for getting him out."

"Hmph. It was easy, considering the stupidity of those three over there. They made my job a lot easier by releasing him from their holding spell."

Tegryn looked down the corridor, and noticed his stricken friends. He ran over to them, taking great care not to unbalance his passenger.

"Mimi! Nini! Anyuna! Charlotte! Are you guys okay?"

"I think they'll be fine" said Riven, crouching alongside Charlotte as she dozed away, cradling her head. "They have a few cuts and bruises, but they'll sleep well tonight!"

"What happened?"

"We came here to rescue you," Nini said weakly.

"I did try to tell you," Musa replied "But I got there too late."

"You mean when you tried to stop us coming here?" said Mimi. "I'm sorry, we messed up big time, didn't we?"

"Come on now, you can't think like that." said Tegryn. "Don't think for a minute I don't appreciate what you've done here. There aren't many people who would've put themselves at risk for me."

Then he sniffed. "Say... is that... burnt hair I can smell?" He looked over at the witches and laughed. "Ha! I love the new hairdo Icy, it's so you!"

"How dare you laugh at me! You'll be sorry."

She stepped forward and prepared to attack, but Darcy held her back.

"There's something different about you," Darcy said to Tegryn with an knowing look on her face, "And I don't mean the rat on your shoulder."

"Rat? RAT? Why you..."

"Hey, calm down, just ignore her. She's only trying to annoy you - and we all know she's awfully good at that" he said to Discorda, before turning to Darcy.

"Yes Darcy, you're right. Thanks to Dizzy here... I can call you Dizzy, can't I?" he asked his companion.

"You most certainly may NOT!" she replied rather angrily.

"Sorry. Thanks to Discorda here, I've learnt to connect to the magic inside me. And seeing as that magic was planted there by you, I now have the potential to learn all of your spells. In fact, I've already learnt one or two of them. They'll need a bit of practice, but allow me to demonstrate."

He held out his hand and focused his mind. "When I click my fingers, you will believe you are... let's see now... a chicken? Yes, you will behave like a chicken for exactly one minute, after which time you will return to normal with a full memory!" He clicked his fingers.

Darcy looked across at the others, and laughed. "You call that a hypnosis spell? You were right, you really could do with the practice!"

"How pathetic!" Icy sneered.

"Cluck!"

Cluck? 


	16. We're Doing One

They looked over at Stormy, who was busy crowing and scratching at the stone floor with her foot in a comical effort to find some grain, then they looked at Tegryn with angry and embarrassed looks on their faces. Everybody else just laughed, as the young witch stood in front of them and cock-a-doodle-do'ed at the top of her voice then, as the minute elapsed, stood there dumbstruck as she realised what had just happened.

"Very good! Encore! Encore!" Tegryn applauded along with the others.

"That's IT! No-one humiliates me like that!" raged Stormy. "Let's get him!"

"Bring it on - I've got scores to settle with all of you." Tegryn and the other readied themselves, but just as this round was about to get underway, they became aware of another evil presence behind the witches.

"Darkar," said Musa with a small quiver in her voice, clutching Tegryn tightly. "That's all we need."

The dark lord said nothing, but just strode forward towards Tegryn. The group of friends prepared themselves for battle. Sensing what was about to happen, Discorda spoke quietly in her pupil's ear "Remember what I taught you... keep your mind totally focused on the magic within you... but be careful."

Tegryn nodded, then addressed Darkar testily. "Look, I really don't have time for this. Because of you lot, my first assignment's already late, plus you got Musa really worried about me. You want my power? Fine, you can have a bit of it right now! RAGE BLAST!"

A pure white bolt of magical energy shot out of Tegryn's outstretched arms, just like it did back in the cave. The immense power of the blast hit Darkar full-on in the chest, sending in him careering backwards down the corridor. The witches looked on in amazement.

Icy and Stormy readied themselves in order to get vengeance on Tegryn, but Darcy inexplicably stood in their way. Ignoring her sisters' shouts of protest, Darcy addressed Tegryn.

"You'd better get out of here while you still can."

Tegryn looked at her in a rather confused fashion, then chuckled. "And on that happy note, we're doing one... I don't know about you guys but I've had enough of these three's company for one day." he said raising his hand to open a portal... but then suddenly Discorda stopped him.

"I don't think so."

"Hey! What do you think you're playing at?"

"Knowing you, we'll end up in the middle of a swamp, and if I get mud on this outfit I'll never forgive you!"

He laughed. "Fair enough then, you do the honours." Sure enough, Tegryn, the Winx girls, the Red Fountain Boys and the Starz soon found themselves back at Alfea.

Meanwhile, back at the castle, Icy and Stormy glared angrily at Darcy.

"You let him get away!"

"Did I?" Darcy laughed. "Just be patient."

"Patient? What do you mean?"

"Now that has learnt to access the dark energy inside of him, it won't be long before it corrupts him. It won't be long before he turns and ditch those pixies - just you wait, he'll soon be on our side. All we have to do is tip the scales in our favour..." 


	17. A Matter Of Concern

"At last, we're back!" exclaimed Tegryn happily. "Thanks for everything Discorda." 

"Yeah, thanks," said Musa. "Tell me, are you two actually bonded now?"

"No no," she replied with a chuckle. "My bond is with Cloud Tower. I just wanted to help Tegryn a bit, that's all."

"Why?" asked Bloom.

"Well, there were two conditions. First of all, he had to agree to help me guard the Codex when I need him. With his potential, I'd much rather have him on my side than on theirs. I suppose he could help Concorda too, if she wanted."

"Uh huh. And the second?"

"He agreed to let me brighten his wardrobe up a bit. If we're going to be working together, the least he can do is look the part!"

The girls laughed. "Now this I have to see!" joked Stella, smirking.

"Yes, it should be rather fascinating... if only he had half as much dress sense as you. Anyway, I must be getting back to Cloud Tower now. I'll be seeing you soon."

Tegryn waved. "OK, see ya! Oh, wait a minute... how will I know if you need me?"

"Trust me, you'll know!" And with that, Discorda vanished.

"Wow. That's some friend you've made there" Sky said to Tegryn.

In amongst all the hubbub, Charlotte stirred as the effects of the sleeping spell wore off.

"Oooh, where am I?" she murmured, before wincing in pain as the feeling came back into her frozen arm.

"Don't worry," said Riven as he carried her. "You're back at Alfea. Everybody's safe now."

Charlotte looked up at him and blushed a little... if this was a dream, she didn't want to wake up from it.

"Oh good, you're awake!" said Musa happily. "We're just gonna take you to Ofelia's for a check-up. How are you feeling?"

"My arm's really sore - it's cold, but it feels like it's burning."

"You've probably got some ice burns. It'll soon heal up though, I'm sure."

"Yeah, you need plenty of rest." said Tegryn. "In the meantime, just relax and enjoy your ride - I'm sure Riven will get you there in one piece!"

"Oi! Will you stop that?"

* * *

Hours later, Tegryn collapsed onto his bed. He had already said his goodnights to everyone (including a longer-than-usual goodnight kiss from you-know-who) and he was more than ready to get some much need shut-eye, but no sooner as he had got himself comfortable he was disturbed by a knock on his door. 

"Oh, who on earth could that be at this time of night?"

Tegryn wearily opened the door.

"Good evening Tegryn. May we come in?"

"Oh. Ms Faragonda, Ms Griselda. Of course you can. Please take a seat."

"I hope we're not disturbing you - you're looking rather tired."

"Yes, it's been a rather long day."

"So we hear."

"How come?"

"News travels fast around here. We've heard a lot about what happened to you today in Aquisates."

"Yes, blimmin' witches. I wish they'd just butt out of my life."

"Yes. We've also heard that you've been in Cloud Tower. I'm sure you're fully aware of this school's policy about that."

"Uh-huh. I've also heard what you did to Musa and the others when they went up there one time - you suspended their powers."

"That's right, but that..."

"I can explain everything though. You see, I was in that cell and..."

"Calm down Mr Devanallt. We know exactly what happened, and we've asked Concorda to pass on our thanks to Discorda. Anyway, your brief excursion to Cloud Tower is not what concerns us."

"It isn't?"

"No, there's something else we'd like to talk to you about. Apparently you now have full access to the magic that Darcy gave to you."

"Yes, that's right."

"I'm sure you're aware that her magic is very powerful, and also very dark."

"I know, but don't worry - I'm sure I can control it."

"Well we're not so sure about that. You're only a beginner, and using that sort of magic when you're so inexperienced could have very bad consequences, not just for you but for everyone."

"Oh. I see."

"Yes. Therefore, myself and Ms Griselda have decided that you are forbidden to use that magic until we feel you are skilled enough in the basics."

"Forbidden? But..."

"No buts Tegryn. Believe me, we know what's best for you."

"I don't believe this... and just when I figured out a good use for that telekinesis magic too."

"And what might that be?"

"Well, I figured that if I cast it on myself, I could fly!"

"That's certainly very creative, but our decision stands - from now on, you are only allowed to use magic taught to you here in Alfea, either from us teachers or from your friends, until we say otherwise."

"Isn't there something I could do to change that dark magic to good magic? You know, like a spell or a potion or something?"

"Hmmm, magic purification? If it's possible, then I don't see why not. I think this would be a good start to your personal tuition, don't you agree Ms Griselda?"

"Definitely. First thing tomorrow, you can get yourself down the library to start your research."

"Tomorrow? But it's still the weekend! And anyway, the girls needs me to help..."

"You wanted extra tuition, didn't you?"

"Well, yes but..."

"Good. Then we'll hear no more about it - I want to see you in the library, 10am sharp tomorrow morning. I will supervise you personally"

Tegryn sighed. "Very well... ten it is."


	18. Hitting The Books

"He's what!"

"Doing homework in the library. Griselda's got him researching potions or something as part of his extra lessons."

"Oh man..."

Musa slumped down into a chair rather dejectedly. She had their entire day mapped out - a romantic picnic for two at the top of her favourite tree to celebrate his return, followed by helping the others organise Flora's surprise birthday party, whilst Helia distracted her with a romantic date of their own. Of course, those plans were well and truly up the river now.

"It gets worse," Tecna continued, "You're banned from the library today. Griselda seems to think you'd be a 'disrupting influence'."

"Now why would she think that?" said Stella teasingly.

* * *

Meanwhile in the library, Tegryn was slavishly pouring over various books about magic and taking notes in his rather untidy handwriting whilst Griselda sat opposite him, reading a novel.

"So what's that you're reading?" He strained his eyes to see what was written on the pages... '...his eyes burned into hers like red-hot coals as he swept her into his manly arms...'

He chuckled. "Why Ms. Griselda... I never had you down as a romantic!"

The vice-principal glowered back at him. "And I never had you down as a slacker who should be concentrating on his own books, not mine!" She peered at the notes he had taken. "How can you possibly read that scrawl? Didn't they teach you handwriting at school?"

"Probably. I didn't get to go to school that often."

"Why ever not?"

"I kept getting lost! I swear they kept moving those places on purpose, just to confuse me."

"Well, didn't your parents teach you at home?"

"Depends which parents you mean. I lost my natural parents when I was young. Not THAT kind of 'lost' though - I literally lost them. When I was about three years old, I went outside to play and couldn't find my way back home again. I think I ended up in France. Anyway, I was adopted a couple of times, but I was never around long enough to grow attached to my new families - I would lose my way home and just keep wandering for weeks on end trying to find it again. I tell you, I ended up in all sorts of places."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"The nearest thing I have to family now is an old Chinese woman and her granddaughter. I managed to stay with them up in the central mountains for about five years before I managed to get lost again."

"Oh, so you have a sister then?"

"Yeah. She must be... ooh, about fifteen, sixteen now?"

"I don't suppose she knows magic?"

"Probably not, but she's one hell of a fighter - when I left a few years ago, she could probably teach most of the boys up at Red Fountain a thing or two! She's probably even stronger now!"

Tegryn sighed - he missed his sister so much. "Little Mei must be worried sick about me. We were so close. Totally inseparable, we were. I wish there was some way I could let her know I'm alright."

Then it dawned on him.

"Hey, now that I know portal magic, maybe I can look them up again - if I can ever find where they live, that is... China's a pretty big place."

Griselda looked at Tegryn - this was the first time he hadn't come across as being completely irritating. "So, how is your project coming along?"

"Hmmm, okay I guess. I think a combined spell and potion is the answer here. I'm looking at earth herbs to start with - I'm quite familiar with them already, and I'm guessing they'd have more effect on me than herbs from other realms."

"Good, keep going. The sooner you get this right, the quicker your progress will be. Myself and Faragona want you to continue with this every day after classes. We've agreed that this will take precedence over your other work."

"Okay... but not this Thursday, surely? It's Flora's birthday - we've arranged everything!"

"Well, I suppose you could have ONE night off."

"Hi Teggy! Tecna told me you were here!"

Tegryn shifted his attentions to see Charlotte walking towards them.

"Charlotte! So Ofelia's let you out then?" he said with a smile, looking at her arm lightly wrapped in a bandage. "How are the others?"

"Oh, they're good. A bit bruised, but nothing major."

"So how are you feeling?"

Charlotte looked at her arm. "It still stings a bit, but Ofelia's given me something for the pain. How's the assignment going?"

"Pretty tough. Good job I've got plenty of chocolate to keep me going. You know how much I love chocolate!"

"Me too, but I can't eat too much cos I'm afraid it'll give me zits! Anyway, can I talk with you a moment?"

"Sure, if that's okay with you," he said looking over at Griselda.

"Okay, you can have two minutes, then it's back to work!"

He stood up and walked with her to the corner. "So what's up?"

"It's... Riven." she said, blushing a little.

"Oh yes?"

"I, erm, I really like him, and I think he likes me too. He stayed with me for hours yesterday, talking with me and everything."

"That's always a good sign."

"Thing is, I really want to date him but I don't know whether he'll ask me or not."

"I see. Hmmm... Musa did say he's not a very forward kind of guy. Perhaps YOU should ask him out instead."

"Me! Are you sure? I mean... what do I say?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something. You said you had a good chat with him, so you must have some idea already."

"I guess... but what if he says no?"

"Now now, you mustn't be so afraid of things not going your way. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet."

"Bite the what?"

"Bite the bullet. You know, take the bull by the horns."

"Do WHAT?"

"Sorry, those are Earth sayings. What I'm trying to say is if you want to ask him out on a date, the best thing to do is to ignore all your fears and doubts, and just go for it!"

"You really think so?"

"Yeah."

"Okay... I guess. I'll give it a go."

"Attagirl! Good luck!"

He waved her off as she went back to her room with a skip in her step, then got back down to his own work.

"Now then... where was I?" 


	19. You're Not Going Anywhere!

The big day had arrived - Flora's birthday. All the preparations were complete (despite the many interruptions) and everyone was gathered in the main hall of Alfea Castle ready for their enjoyable night out.

"Okay... is everybody here? Let's go!" said Bloom excitedly.

"No, wait. The Starz aren't here yet." Tecna replied.

"They're not coming," explained Tegryn. "They wanted to come, but they're still feeling a little groggy from the other day. Except Charlotte - she hasn't been able to sit still all day!"

"Why?"

"Well, me and her had a little chat the other day, and it seems she finally plucked up the courage to ask Riven out on a date... and guess what? He said yes!"

"Really!"

"Uh-huh," he nodded. "So now you don't need to ask why Riven isn't here neither."

"Yeah, I was kinda wondering that. Mind you, parties never really were his thing, were they?" said Sky.

"I guess not. So then, are we going or not?"

A stern voice rang out behind them. "They can, but YOU'RE staying here." They turned around to see Griselda walking down the staircase.

"You mean Teggy?" asked Musa looking confused. "Why not?"

"He still has homework to do."

"Oh, you can't be serious!" he protested. "Come on, it's Flora's birthday. Please, just give me one night off - after all, you said I could the other day."

"I've changed my mind. You know how important this is - you can't afford to waste time. Now come on... back into the library you go!"

"That is so whack!" said Musa, half-angry, half-upset.

Tegryn sighed and turned to Flora. "I'm really sorry about this," he said, giving her a friendly goodbye hug. "Just go out and enjoy yourself - this is your night, okay?"

"Okay. It's such a shame though," she replied. "How about I bring you back a little something?"

"That is so sweet of you. Thanks!"

He then turned to Musa, who was looking more and more upset with each passing second. "Come on Musie, don't be sad."

"But I was really looking forward to this. It just seems that we never get any time together any more. This really sucks!" she sniffed.

"You're telling me, I hate this just as much as you do. But don't worry - with any luck I'll soon finish this, and when I do I'm all yours!"

"You'd better be!"

"Sure. How about... every night for a week, we'll do whatever YOU want?"

"Yeah... I'd like that."

"But only on one condition - you have to enjoy yourself tonight. If anyone tells me you weren't, the deal's off, okay?"

She smiled weakly. "Okay, I'll try."

"Nice one." he said, kissing her. "Now, you go on and have fun, okay?"

They shared one final embrace and a goodbye kiss (which as far as Musa was concerned didn't last nearly long enough), then turned and left for their ride. He waved them off, gazing longingly at Musa, before being interrupted by Griselda.

"Come on. You have work to do."

"I hope you're happy. Musa didn't deserve any of that" he scowled.

"You know this is for your own good. Trust me - you'll see things differently very soon."

"Yeah, whatever."

Griselda stood there, arms folded, saying nothing, but smiling rather sinisterly as she watched him trudge reluctantly up the stairs. 


	20. Barcelona Blast

"Wow! This place is awesome!" said Flora as they strolled along La Ramblas in the centre of Barcelona. "How did you find it?" 

"Teggy said he visited here once on his travels." replied Bloom.

"Oh yeah?" replied Stella. "And where was he supposed to be?"

"Milan, I think."

"Is that far from here?"

"A few hundred miles."

"Not bad, considering it's him!"

"Stella!"

They laughed as they walked down the sweeping pedestrian avenue amongst the many tourists and locals, all taking in the myriad of street entertainment. Bloom looked at Musa, who was still looking a little glum.

"Tonight's gonna be really cool, huh?" she said, trying to cheer her up without making it look as though she was trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah... I guess so - I just wish Teggy could've come with us. Oh wait... I think we're here!" she replied as she spotted a quaint little restaurant. They walked in - at the far end was a large stage, towards which all the tables were facing. The walls were decorated with painting of local landmarks, with the wall behind the main counter dedicated to FC Barcelona - the owners were obviously from the red and blue half of the city. A lot of excited shouting could be heard coming from the kitchen, where most of the staff were watching a soccer match on TV.

They were approached by the manager, a rather plump, cheerful looking man. "Buenos noches, señoritas!" he welcomed them cheerfully.

"Erm, hi! Table for nine, please?"

"Table for nine, table for nine... oh, the birthday party! Si, si, follow me please!" He led them to a large round table, positioned directly in front of the stage. "Please, sit down, make yourselves comfortable. I will get your menus."

"I think Tegryn's chosen really well," said Brandon to Musa. "Your boyfriend has really good taste in restaurants."

"Yeah," said Stella. "And just think - you'll soon have him all to yourself! Just think of all the romantic places he could take you."

Musa smiled dreamily. "Mmmm, I can't wait!"

* * *

Shortly after the party had made their orders, the customers in the restaurant started applauding as a man and two women, all flamboyantly dressed, strode onto the stage, took a bow and proceeded to perform an extravagant flamenco. 

"How do they do that?" asked Flora, staring in awe at the girls' lightning-fast footwork. "I'm getting tired just watching them!"

All too soon, their first dance was over. Acknowledging the rapturous applause, one of the ladies took to the microphone.

"Gracias, ladies and gentlemen. Now, for our next dance, we need two volunteers. Please, don't be shy!" She looked down and pointed at Flora and Musa. "I think you two beautiful girls. Please, come up to the stage."

"Me?" asked Musa. "Oh, I don't know if I can do that..."

"Go on," urged Stella. "It'll be fun!"

Musa looked at the others, who were all nodding in agreement, then reluctantly stood up and joined Flora on the stage.

"A round of applause please for these two lovely ladies!"

The crowd clapped them warmly as they were led by the two women backstage to get changed, whilst their male partner entertained the audience with a Spanish ballad.

"He has a good voice, doesn't he?" Bloom whispered to Layla.

"Yes - he's hunky too!"

They clapped as his song drew to a close, then Bloom gave an excited squeal. "Look, there they are!"

Sure enough, right on cue, Flora and Musa came out onto the stage dressed in dazzling, full-length red and black flamenco dresses, with large frills running all the way down their legs, and complete with single red roses in their hair.

"We have to get photos!" said Tecna, taking a digital camera out. First, one with Flora and Musa together with the two dancers, then one of Musa on her own (especially for Tegryn).

"Okay girls, just follow us. We take it slowly first, si?"

The dancers struck the flamenco pose as their partner strummed his guitar. Flora and Musa followed, as they stamped their feet to the rhythm, slowly at first, then building up, faster and faster, frenetically stamping and clapping for all they were worth.

The others cheered them on enthusiastically. Musa looked at Flora and laughed as she tried to keep up - she hadn't had so much fun in ages. If only Tegryn was here.

Yes, if only...


	21. Betrayal

Meanwhile in Alfea's library, Tegryn grumpily carried on with his assignment, closely watched by Griselda. She looked at a clock on the wall behind them.

"Hmmm, six-thirty. I suppose you can go now."

'I've only been here half an hour... what's going on?' he thought to himself. 'Still, maybe now I can join the others... if I can find my way to Barcelona, that is.'

He quickly packed up his things, said goodbye, then hurriedly made his way to his room. He had barely made his way out of the library when he came across Charlotte happily walking the other way, dressed in a sparkling red cropped top and terracotta-coloured jeans, finished off with a small red purse.

"Wow, you look fantastic! Riven won't know what hit him!"

"Thanks."

"So where are you meeting him?"

"In the main hall, by the staircase."

"Cool, I'll walk you there."

"Ummm, aren't you supposed to be at Flora's party?"

"Yes I am," he snapped crossly, "But Griselda had other ideas. A few days ago she said I could go, but just now she comes along and says I can't - it seems her word means nothing. And after all that, she only keeps me in for less than an hour! And Musa, she was so disappointed. This would've been our first night out together in ages, we were so looking forward to this."

"Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear that. So, er, how's your work coming?" she said, changing the subject quickly.

"I think I'm almost there... I've found a good incantation, and the potion's almost complete - I think I just need a couple more ingredients."

"What are they?"

"I'm not quite sure. I think they may be something to do with me personally - you know, things that mean a lot to me, things that make me happy, that sort of thing. I tell you, I can't wait to get this finished."

And so the two friends carried on, chatting away happily. As they came to the top of the staircase, they could see a lone figure standing downstairs, holding a bunch of red roses - sure enough, Riven was bang on time.

Tegryn waved to Charlotte as she walked down to meet him. "You guys have fun now!"

"Thanks!"... but before she could walk any further, a familiar girl's voice out from within the main hall.

"Riven! Over here!"

They look over to see Musa jogging over to where Riven was standing.

Tegryn was confused. "Musa? What are you doing here? I thought you were with the others."

Musa ignored him and carried on. Riven stood there transfixed. "Musa..." he murmured, dropping his flowers, before taking her in his arms and kissing her passionately.

Tegryn and Charlotte stood still, horrified by what they were seeing before them. Charlotte started to weep.

"Musa! What... what are you doing!"

Musa stopped for a second, looked up at Tegryn and smiled wickedly, before continuing her kiss with Riven. Charlotte was bawling her eyes out uncontrollably, but Tegryn just stood there, stone-faced, as his heart shattered into a million pieces.

His world was crumbling before his very eyes. How could this be happening? What had he done wrong? What did he do to deserve this?

The look of shock gave way as a look of anger and hatred descended onto his face. "Come on Charlotte... we've seen enough. Let's get out of here." he said, leading his poor, heartbroken friend away.

Musa continued kissing Riven until she was sure Tegryn and Charlotte were out of sight before pulling away and running off.

"Thanks, loverboy!" she said evilly as she made her way out of the entrance hall.

As she disappeared from view, Riven blinked, looked at his watch and tutted. "Charlotte's late..." 


	22. Riven Apart

The following morning, the Starz girls sat down in class. Charlotte was still looking sad after what happened last night, and her friends were sitting around her trying to get her spirits up.

"I still can't believe what that jerk did to you," said Anyuna angrily. "And in front of Tegs as well! He must be so upset."

"And what about Musa? I used to think she was so cool," said Mimi.

"Yeah, but now she's just a evil little..." started Nini, before a swift elbow in the ribs from her sister informed her that Ms Faragonda was entering the room. The principal greeted her class, then looked around the room.

"Where's Tegryn?"

A confused silence fell across the room.

"Is he ill?"

"We don't know," Anyuna started. "We haven't seen him since yesterday."

"How very odd - it's not like him to skip classes. Maybe he is ill."

As Faragonda continued her class, Anyuna turned and whispered to the others. "Something's wrong here guys."

"Oh, I hope he's alright." replied Charlotte. "He seemed really upset after what we saw last night - I'm worried about him."

"We'll check his room out as soon as this lesson's over." said Nini.

"Yeah. I'm sure he's okay."

As soon as classes were over, Anyuna and the others started off for Tegryn's room. As they crossed the main hallway, an angry voice rang out.

"Charlotte!"

They looked across to see Riven marching towards them with a less-than-happy look about him.

"What do YOU want?" Anyuna demanded, staring him straight in the eyes.

"I want to know why she stood me up!" he replied, jabbing his finger in Charlotte's direction.

"What!"

"I said I want to know why she stood me up. I waited ages for her last night, but she didn't bother showing - and after she went to all that effort to ask me out too!"

"How dare you! You've got no right to come here and speak to her like that after that stunt you pulled."

"And what stunt would that be?"

"You are kidding, aren't you?"

"I've got no idea what you're talking about."

"I talking about you and Musa, kissing."

"What! Oh please, why would I want to kiss HER when I'm supposed to be dating Charlotte?"

"I don't care WHY you did it, all I know is that you did."

"You have got to be joking. I wouldn't do something like that. You must be making it up."

"Oh, so now you're accusing me of lying?" Anyuna and Riven confronted each other staring daggers. However, their little spat was soon broken up.

"Hey, have you guys seen Teggy?"

They looked over to see Musa and the others coming towards them. Flora was holding a small gift box, a little souvenir from yesterday's night out.

"I wanted to give him this," said Flora, holding the present up. "A little thank you for helping to organise such a great birthday treat."

Riven's body gave a small jerk when he saw Musa. "Musa..." he murmured as he walked towards her, transfixed.

"What's he doing now?" said Mimi. "Oh no, surely they're not going to..."

But he did. Riven was powerless to help himself. He stood in front of Musa and went to take her in his arms, just like last night.

"Hey, HEY! What do you think you're doing?"

"But I must..."

"Get off me!"

"But I must..."

"I said GET OFF ME!" screamed Musa angrily as she slapped him in the face as hard as she could. Riven stood there, blinking and holding his cheek which now sported a red hand-print. He shook his head, as though he had just woken up from a deep sleep.

"Hey! What was THAT for"? he demanded angrily.

"You just tried to kiss me!"

"Excuse me? Kiss you! Why would I want to do that?"

"It's a shame you didn't do that last night," said Anyuna, glaring at Musa and Riven. "And now you have the nerve to stand there and play innocent. You two disgust me."

A collective gasp rang out from the girls. "Anyuna, what do you mean by that?" asked Flora.

"Last night, those two kissed each other right in front of Teggy and Charlotte!"

Musa was shocked to hear this. "No way! I love Teggy, I wouldn't hurt him like that."

"Yeah? Well you did, last night."

"I'm sorry, but that's impossible," said Tecna. "Musa was with us all last night. Flora, show them the photos."

Flora took out over her digital camera and showed the Starz her pictures - photos of the city, the restaurant, all the friends together, Flora and Musa dancing with the flamenco girls, and lastly Musa pictured on her own in her full Spanish gear.

"Please Charlotte, you have to believe us. I would never do anything like that, especially not to you and Teggy." Musa pleaded with her young friend.

"I... I do trust you - but I know what I saw."

"Something very odd is happening here," said Tecna. "I think we need to find Tegryn as soon as possible. Let's try his room" 


	23. The Plot Thickens

A few minutes later, they arrived outside Tegryn's room. Musa knocked desperately on the door.

"Teggy? Teggy, please, open up!"

"Now now Musa, there's no need to make quite so much noise." Musa looked up to see Faragonda and Griselda approaching. "What are you doing here anyway."

"We came to find Tegryn. We're worried about him."

"So are we. He didn't attend any of his classes this morning. We came down here to see make sure he's well."

"I'm not too sure, he's not answering his door."

Faragonda tried the handle - but the door was locked. "Not to worry," she said waving her hand. A couple of seconds later, the lock clicked and the door opened slowly with a creak. The gang peered inside - the room was empty, and the window was wide open.

"He's not here, but why would the window be open?" queried Bloom.

Faragonda walked over to the window and closed it. "I do hope he hasn't done what I think he's done."

"And what's that?"

"A few days ago when we forbade him from using his dark magic, he mentioned that he wanted to use his telekinesis magic to enable him to fly. If he's doing that, then I fear for him."

"Why, because he's had no practice flying?"

"No, because the more he uses his dark magic, the more likely it is to corrupt him."

"But why would he do that when we expressly forbade him from doing so?" asked Griselda.

"He was very upset last night." Charlotte piped up.

"Oh. Didn't Flora's birthday party go well?" Griselda asked.

"Well, yes it did, but he didn't come with us."

"Why not?"

"You said he couldn't."

Griselda's eyebrows jumped at this. "I said he couldn't? You're very mistaken. I told him he could go last weekend."

"But last night when we were about to leave, you came along and stopped him. You said you'd changed your mind about letting him go with us."

"That's quite impossible, my dear child," said Faragonda. "Ms Griselda, myself and the rest of the school staff were in a meeting for the best part of last night."

"But we all saw her..." started Musa.

"Yes, just like Teggy and Charlotte 'saw' you and Riven kissing." Tecna interrupted. "There's only one logical explanation - someone has been impersonating both Griselda and Musa - and no prizes for guessing who!"

"But what about Riven?"

"Judging by the way we saw him act earlier, along with the fact that he has no memory of these events, I'd say he was hypnotised into doing all that."

"Why?"

"It's probably all to get at Tegryn!"

"They're trying to get Tegryn? That means he's in danger! We have to find him, quick!" said Musa desperately.

"Easier said than done. He's probably long gone - he could be anywhere by now..." 


	24. Under A Dark Cloud

Majix City flourished in the springtime warmth. The townsfolk went about their business as usual, totally oblivious to the heartache and hurt being felt by one person amongst them. In the park, a lone figure sat underneath a tree, pondering the world and what he should do about it, bitterness welling up in his soul as he watched the people happily living their lives. Tegryn just couldn't get his head around what he saw last night. He wanted so dearly to just dismiss it as a figment of his imagination, but then he would remember that he wasn't the only one to see it. Poor Charlotte, her little heart had been trampled just as much as his.

But what could he do? Should he go back to Alfea and demand an explanation? No, not yet - he couldn't handle that right now. No, he should just stay away for a while, let his mind settle down a bit. He was in no state for some in-depth emotional heart-to-heart, let alone a blazing row. Should he even stay with Musa after what he saw? Could ever forgive her for this? Should he?

No, he should stay away for a while - but how? He had no money, no food, no change of clothing. What's he supposed to do, sleep rough on the streets? Find a nice little cave to curl up and die in? He would have to go back eventually, if only to sneak in during the middle of the night and gather some of his belongings.

So many things to think about, but his mind was in complete turmoil right now. He couldn't think straight even if he wanted to. He felt like lashing out, hitting something, destroying something. The rage and bitterness was welling up inside him. How can all these people be so happy when his life is a such a sorry state? Don't they care? Why should they, he's a stranger in a strange town. How dare they be happy when he's not... HOW DARE THEY!

He held his head in his hands and groaned, completely unaware that he had company, and not particularly pleasant company at that.

"Oh dear, look's like someone's having a rough time!"

"Aww, what a shame. What's the matter, little Teggy? Something upset you?"

"What the hell do you want?" he said, not bothering to look up at the three witches who were taunting him. "I'm not in the mood for your games - and I'll tell you now, if you're not out of my sight in five seconds, you'll be sorry."

"Come now, we didn't come here to fight," said Darcy crouching down next to him. "We heard about what happened. We've always said you can't trust pixies - it looks like you found that out the hard way."

"I'm warning you," he said, clenching his fist. "Go away and leave me alone!"

"We didn't come to fight, just to talk," she said almost soothingly as she stared intently into his eyes. "Remember what I told you before - we don't have to be enemies. We can be your friends, your allies. Trust me."

"And you should remember what I told you before - I will not join you. Why should I?"

Darcy looked slightly bemused at this response. "Who said anything about joining us? All we want is to talk - no games, no spells and certainly no fighting - besides, you look as though you need something to eat and drink. Come with us."

"Yes, its alright," added Icy, biting her lip. "We have no beef with you today. Come on, we'll take you for something to eat - our treat!"

Tegryn looked at them in astonishment. Were they actually being KIND to him? What the hell were they pulling now? He knew in the back of his mind they were up to something, but he was so desperate for company, ANY company, that he found himself accompanying them to a rather shabby looking building. He saw a sign reading 'Hex Cafe', and inside he could see witches just chilling out and chatting. As they walked in, the teenage witches all looked up at this newcomer - he paid no attention as he sat down at the nearest table with Stormy as Icy and Darcy went up to the counter to make their order.

Icy whispered to Darcy "I don't know how long I can keep this up - how long do we have to keep pretending to be nice anyway? Why haven't you hypnotised him yet?"

Darcy shook her head. "I tried it back in the park but I couldn't get into his head, just like I haven't been able to get into his dreams lately."

"Surely he hasn't figured out a way to defend against your mind intrusions."

"It doesn't matter, we'll just have to get to him another way." Darcy held up a small green vial and took the top off. "I'll slip some of this Suggestion Potion into his drink - one sip and he'll believe anything we tell him!" 


	25. Wicked Suggestions

Back at the table, Tegryn sat silently, spinning a fork in between his fingers, quicker and quicker. Stormy looked on, slightly bemused by what she saw.

"What kind of magic is THAT? It's pathetic."

"It's not magic," he replied tersely, "Just a little exercise I learnt in China for keeping my hands nimble."

"Why would you want to learn something useless like that?"

Tegryn didn't reply. Mentioning China had just brought a new wave of painful memories flooding back.

"I miss them..." he said quietly.

"Miss who?"

"My... family... oh, why is this happening to me?"

"Don't ask me."

"I don't deserve any of this," he said, shaking with rage as he grasped the fork firmly in his hand. "I DON'T DESERVE THIS!" he shouted, driving the fork deep into the table, causing it to split slightly. He slumped forward and buried his head under his hands, weeping quietly. "I don't deserve this."

All of the cafe's customers sat and stared at this outburst. Darcy and Icy looked on amused, as Stormy smiled back at them wickedly. "In that state, he should be easier to manipulate than we thought."

The two sisters walked over to the table. Darcy placed a large cup of what looked like tea in front of him. "Here, drink this."

Tegryn raised his head and took the cup. Slowly, he took a sip, then screwed his face up. "This tastes... odd."

"It's a special brew," said Icy smiling. "It's better if you drink it all quickly." Tegryn was in no mood to dispute this, and emptied the cup down his throat in one swig. It tasted bitter. He grimaced slightly, but avoided shouting out 'Yuck' and spitting it out purely out of good manners.

Darcy looked at the others and nodded. "Tegryn, we heard about what happened. To be honest, it doesn't surprise me that Musa would dump you for Riven."

"Yes," Stormy cut in. "She's always had feelings for him, even after you came on the scene."

"She may have said she loved you, but now you know that was all a big lie." Icy continued. "Believe us, you can't trust fairies. They'll lie to you whenever it suits them. They'll take advantage of you at every opportunity."

"And what's more, we know how the teachers at Alfea have been holding you back, stopping you from using your true magic, preventing you from realising your full potential. They're no good for you. You'll learn nothing from them... but we can help you become powerful."

"We can help you fulfil your dreams."

"We can help you realise that 'goodness' is just a myth, just something to keep the powerful from becoming truly great. You have to let go of these feelings - love, compassion, justice - they're all false. Embrace evil and nothing can stop you!"

"You already have dark magic inside of you, but you can't use it properly unless you give yourself over. Be as evil, as nasty, and as selfish as you want, and nothing can hold you back!"

Tegryn looked at them, with the false realisation of what they were saying was true dawning upon him. "Yes... yes, you're right. I should've listened to you in the first place." he said, his face seeming to darken. "Those pixies will be sorry for what they did to me."

"Excellent," said Icy triumphantly. "Stick with us and you won't regret it!"

"Regret? Pah!" he snorted. "Regret is for losers!"

The evil trio laughed along with their new pal. Darcy was particularly satisfied - so far her plan had worked perfectly... 


	26. Pining For A Lost Love

"Where's Musa?" asked Bloom.

"She's in her room again." came Stella's reply.

It had been four days since Musa's beloved had gone missing, and since then she had been a virtual recluse, coming out only to eat or attend lessons, and even then she would eat or say very little. Despite the many searches that had been conducted, there was no sign of Tegryn anywhere.

"I'm really worried about her," said Flora. "I'm just going to see if she's okay." She knocked on Musa's door but there was no reply, so she tried the handle - it was unlocked. Poking her head through the door, she saw Musa laying on her bed. As Flora walked closer, she could see that she was staring fondly at photos of her sweetheart that were laid out in front of her, as though she was trying to get him to come home by willpower alone.

"Musa? Are you okay?"

She looked over at Flora with a start. "Hi," she said gloomily. "I didn't hear you."

"I just came to see how you were doing. We're all worried about you."

She looked back down at her photos. "I wish he'd come home."

"We all do. We all miss him. You two are so great together." she said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Are we? I don't know now. He must hate me so much."

"Why? You've done nothing wrong, and I'm sure deep down he knows that."

Musa sighed. She wanted to believe that but she couldn't. After all, whoever impersonated Griselda had hoodwinked them all, even though they've known Griselda for a good few years now - so how was Tegryn to know? Then she thought about how upset Charlotte was and the things Anyuna said to her and Riven before the truth was figured out... but what about Tegryn? She knew for sure that as far as he was concerned his girlfriend had just cheated on him... and how could he forgive her if he didn't know the truth?

She could feel a wave of despair looming at this thought. She struggled to keep her emotions locked away deep inside, but they were simply too overwhelming. She burst into floods of tears. "He hates me! I know he does! He'll never come back!" she wailed.

"Aw come on," said Flora as she hugged her friend tightly, ignoring the fact that her shoulder was getting soaked. "It'll turn out okay in the end. Everything will be alright, just you see."

"But... we were so happy, but now they've ruined everything!" she sobbed. "Why can't they just leave us alone?"

Flora stroked her friend's hair in a comforting manner - she knew exactly what 'they' Musa was referring to. "Don't worry, they won't win - witches never do," she said, looking down at the photos spread out across her bed. "But you can't stay in here all day torturing yourself like this - that's exactly what they'd want. Come on, you need some fresh air. Why don't we go down your favourite music store and see what new stuff they've got, hmm?"

Knowing that Flora had her best interests at heart, Musa reluctantly agreed. 


	27. Now The Trix Are Four

A few hours later, the Winx girls emerged from the music store, with Musa proudly holding the new album by her favourite rapper - Flora's idea to cheer her up had worked, albeit temporarily. Temporarily indeed, for as they turned a street corner they were confronted by a less-than-welcome trio.

"Well well well, look what we have here!"

Bloom groaned. "What do you three want now?"

Icy sniggered. "Us THREE? Did you hear that - this stupid little pixie thinks there are only three of us!"

"What are you talking about?"

"What do you say? Shall we introduce them to Trix's newest member?"

And right on cue a familiar figure emerged, dressed in black jeans and a black sleeveless shirt with a white star on the chest. Around his left wrist he wore a large bracelet, similar to the jewellery given to the witches by Darkar but more masculine in style. He fixed Musa with a cold, dark glare in his eyes.

"Teggy?" she gasped.

"That's Tegryn to you." came his hostile reply.

"But... what are you doing? Why are you with these three?"

"That's none of your business."

"But... it is my business. You're my boyfriend and..."

"Boyfriend? Hah! I stopped being your boyfriend when you decided to cheat on me... or were you hoping I would forget about that?"

"That wasn't ME kissing Riven, it was her!" said Musa, pointing at Darcy.

"Oh what? You think I'm so stupid, I can't tell the difference between you and Darcy? Besides, Charlotte had a pretty good view of it too. These witches were right - you fairies really will lie whenever it suits you."

"I'm not lying, I'm telling the truth and I can prove it. Please Teggy, you have to believe me. That wasn't me - you know I wouldn't do that to you. I LOVE YOU!"

"ENOUGH!" he bellowed, "I've had enough of your stinking lies! How can you say you love me after what you did? Do you really think I'm that stupid? I've had enough of all of you, pretending to be my friends when all along you were plotting against me and holding me back. Ever since I discovered how to use my powers, you've all been against me, trying to stop me from growing. You had a giant walking amongst you and you just couldn't handle it, could you? Well, no more! Now, I'm stronger and better than ever - I'm finally reaching my potential, and I owe it all to these three here."

"But Teggy..."

"STOP CALLING ME THAT! I may have been happy with you once, but that ended when you started sneaking around behind my back. We're finished now... you get it? WE'RE FINISHED!"

"We're... finished?" That last statement hit her like a brick in the face. This sucker punch threatened to destroy her already fragile spirit... but then something inside persuaded to stand firm. Full of resolve and determination, Musa stared deep in Tegryn's eyes. "We are NOT finished. I know what's happening here. I know they've turned you against me somehow... but one way or another, I WILL have you back! I won't give up on you Teggy, I won't!"

"Yeah, whatever," he said as he turned his back on her. "I don't know about you three, but these pixies are boring me now. What do you say we go get something to eat?"

As they walked back down the street, Tegryn and the witches could be heard mocking Musa. "... one way or another I WILL have you back! Hah! How lame!"

Musa looked on, breathing hard in anger. "Those witches are gonna pay for what they've done to my Teggy. Come on guys, let's get back to Alfea. We need to think of something, quick." 


	28. A Plan of Action

A major brainstorming session was well in progress, with the Winx and Starz girls, Mirta and the Red Fountain boys all sat around a large table in Alfea's dinner hall trying to cook up a plan. 

"It looks like Faragonda was right - that dark magic HAS corrupted him." said Tecna.

"But how?" asked Bloom. "How could he be corrupted by his own magic?"

"That's just it - it's not HIS magic he was using, it was Darcy's"

"If only there was some way to persuade Tegryn that Musa was telling the truth." said Anyuna.

"I don't think talking will help us much here," Tecna replied.

"I know," said Bloom "He was so unreasonable back there. It's totally out of character."

"Exactly. It was obvious to all of us that he was under some sort of outside influence."

"So we have to find a way to counter that?" Anyuna asked. "But what can we do - hypnotise him?"

"There must be some other way. His mind's been messed up enough as it is without us adding to the problem." said Tecna. "Besides, it'll be impossible to hypnotise him if the Mind Firewall spell I cast on him is still in effect. No, there must be some other sort of magic we can use."

All of a sudden, Charlotte clicked her fingers. "I've got it! How about that purification spell Griselda had him working on?"

"Purification spell? Of course, I'd forgotten all about that! If it's done right, it should neutralise all the dark energy within him!"

"Yes!" cried Musa happily. "That's just what we need... oh, wait a minute. He didn't finish it, did he?"

"No", replied Charlotte, "But he told me it was NEARLY finished. He found an incantation, and he said he only needed to find a few more ingredients for the potion."

"Good, with any luck all the info we need will be in his notes. I guess they're still up in his room - let's just hope he hasn't taken them."

* * *

After informing Ms. Faragonda of their plan, she was quickly persuaded into letting them into Tegryn's room. They soon found what they were looking for - his notebook, which was still where it had been left, carelessly thrown onto his bedside table next to his precious photo of Musa which he had turned face down in his despair. Musa picked up the photo and sighed "It won't be long now babe." 

Stella opened the notebook, and strained her eyes as she tried to make out Tegryn's untidy scrawl. "You call THIS handwriting? I mean, what is this - hieroglyphics!"

"It's okay," said Charlotte as she took the book from her. "He took me through his notes - I'm sure I can read it," and as she did so, she re-wrote the information in her own much-neater writing. As soon as she was finished, she handed it to Faragonda.

"Ah, good... we have most of these ingredients right here in our stores, but I don't think we stock these earth herbs... golden sage, melissa, lavender, rosemary... I'm sure we have them in jars but according to these notes, we need freshly-picked whole leaves."

"Ooh, what's that?" asked Bloom, pointing at one of the ingredients on the list. "Black Seed Oil? Never heard of it."

"Allow me," said Tecna. "I'll just look it up on the Realm Wide Web... ah, here we are, Black Seed Oil. An extract from the seed of iNigella Sativa/i, Black Seed Oil has been used for thousands of years as part of traditional medicines in North Africa, the Middle East and Asia."

"Ah, so that's from Earth too," said Bloom. "Look's like we'll have to go on a little shopping trip. Who's with me?"

"Hey, shopping is what I do best!" said Stella.

"I think it will be best if me and Charlotte stay here to work on the potion." said Flora. "Musa too - we still have to find these two missing ingredients, and she knows Teggy better than anyone else here."

"And I'll head up to Cloud Tower," said Mirta. "Maybe Discorda can help us."

"Good idea," said Faragonda. "The rest of you can go down to Earth if you want, but you'll have to quick."

"In fact, you'll have to be VERY quick." Charlotte added. "According to this, the spell is best performed during a full moon when dark magic is at its strongest - and that just happens to be tonight!"

"Tonight? But that only gives us..."

"Six hours."


	29. Middle Eastern Magic

"Wow! So this is Earth." 

This was Anyuna's first time on Earth, and she was impressed by what she saw. Of course, it helped that Bloom's hometown was exceptionally beautiful. Bloom always loved coming home to Gardenia, even when it was raining like it was that day. On this occasion the weather was the last thing on everyone's minds, even Stella, who normally hated the rain - as far as she was concerned, anything that could mess her hair up deserved to be hated. Soon they were outside Bloom's house, where Bloom saw two familiar figures stepping out into the street.

"Hi Mom! Hi Pop!" she shouted, waving happily to her parents.

"Bloom!" cried Mike as he hugged his darling daughter. "We weren't expecting you home - has school finished already?"

"No, 'fraid not," she said. "We're just here on a little shopping trip. I'm afraid we can't stop, we're kinda in a hurry."

"That's a shame... still, it's nice of you to call by. Hello Stella - I hope you've been keeping our little girl out of trouble!"

"Oh yes, of course," Stella replied. "Every day at Alfea is SO boring and quiet!"

Mike and Vanessa laughed. "So anyway Bloom - why ARE you here?"

"We have to get these things for a potion," she said, handing the list over to her father. "And we have to get them by tonight. Do you have any idea where to find them?"

"Hmmm... well, there's a nursery quite near here - you should be able to get your herbs there... but this black seed oil stuff? Never heard of it."

"Apparently, it's a traditional medicine from the Middle East and Asia."

"The Middle East? Oh, I think there's a Middle Eastern shop on the other side of town... I'll just go back inside and look it up in the telephone directory..." A few minutes, he emerged from the house clutching the local phone book. "Found it - here it is!"

Bloom peered at the small advert for a continental grocery.

"Oh, I know that street. Um, Daddy? You couldn't drive us there, could you?"

"Well, I suppose so - I couldn't fit ALL of you in the car though."

"That's okay," said Layla. "It'd be quicker if we split up anyway - you carry on to the shop, and the rest of us will go get the herbs."

"Okay!" said Bloom as she got into the car with her dad, Sky, Mimi and Nini. "We'll meet you guys back here when we're done."

* * *

A few minutes later, the group arrived at the store - it was a quaint little place nestled in the heart of one of the busier suburbs. The shelves were stocked full of dates, sweets, nuts, cakes and all manner of fruit and veg. At the back of the shop, a butcher was preparing some meat for a customer. As they walked in, their senses were pleasantly welcomed by the aroma of exotic spices. 

"Wow! Get a load of that smell! It's gorgeous!" said Bloom.

"Yeah, and check out the sounds too," added Mimi, commenting on the Arabian music playing quite merrily in the background.

"We have to get that!" Nini replied eagerly. "We could make some totally killer tunes with that!"

"I'm glad you like my music!" The twins turned around to see they were being greeted by a kind-looking old man with dark skin and a greying beard. "Good afternoon my friends, and what can I do for you?"

"Hi." said Bloom's dad. "Do you have any... what was that stuff called again?"

"Black Seed Oil."

"Black Seed Oil? Yes, we should have some of that left." he said, looking towards a shelf behind the counter. "Let me see now... ah, here we are."

He handed a small box to Mike, containing a bottle. "There is cure for every disease in black seeds except death" he read out aloud. "Wow... that's a pretty big claim."

"Let's just hope it's true." said Bloom.

"What do you mean?" enquired the shopkeeper.

"Well, erm, we need it to make a poti... I mean, a medicine for a friend of ours. He really needs our help."

The shopkeeper smiled warmly. "With friends like you, I'm sure he'll be fine. I'll pray for your success."

"Thanks mister!" she said as she handed over the money. "Okay, we better get going. Mimi? Nini?"

"Be right with you!" the twins shouted - they had spotted a CD which just happened to be the same one that the shopkeeper was playing. "Come on, let's get it!"

"Okay... ummm, where's the money?"

"Didn't YOU bring it?"

"No, I thought you did."

"Bummer, we must've forgotten. Ah well, we'll have to come back later."

The shopkeeper laughed. "No no my young friends, you keep it!"

"Oh, I don't know..." Mimi started.

"We really oughtta pay." finished Nini.

"No, I insist. You keep it." said the shopkeeper. "You caught me in a good mood today, and I won't take no for an answer!"

"Really? Thanks!" As they ran out of the store, the shopkeeper called out "Peace be upon you!" The twins turned around, grinned and each gave a V-sign. "Peace!"


	30. The Final Ingredient

Back at Alfea, Musa, Flora and Charlotte were busy combining the ingredients in a large glass beaker to make the purification potion, under the watchful supervision of their principal. The basics were all present and correct, and they were just waiting for Bloom and the others to return from Earth. In the meantime, they just had the two mystery elements to figure out.

"Hmmm... something personal - that's what you said, wasn't it?"

"Yes, that's right," replied Charlotte. "Teggy said that it should be things that make him happy."

"Things that make him happy?" Musa sighed unhappily. "That used to be me."

"Maybe it still is."

"Maybe... but I don't see how I can be a part of this potion. I wouldn't fit into this beaker for a start!"

Charlotte giggled. "Well, maybe not YOU... but how about a lock of your hair?"

"My hair? Eww! Are you kidding?"

"She does have a point," said Flora. "After all, if Teggy's not with you, he's always talking about you - maybe he's thinking about you right now. Maybe you ARE one of the ingredients."

"It certainly is an unusual approach," said Faragonda.

"Yes, and it's so wacky it might just work!" said Musa as she grabbed a nearby pair of scissors, snipped off a half-inch of her precious right ponytail and sprinkled it into the mixture. "OK... anyone got any ideas for the last ingredient?"

Flora frowned. "I don't know... he loves listening to music with you, right?"

"Yeah, but how do we add that to the potion - put it in front of the stereo and play it some techno?"

"Hmmm, maybe not. Okay... what's his favourite food?"

"His favourite food?" Musa looked at Charlotte. Charlotte thought briefly, then snapped her fingers as the answer hit her.

"Aha!"

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Musa asked.

"I think so - and I know where to get it too!"

"Yep. Teggy keeps a load of it in his fridge. Come on!"

"What? What is it?" Flora shouted after them, but they were already gone. She looked at Faragonda and shrugged her shoulders.

"Hey guys... is it ready?"

Flora looked up to see that Bloom and the others had returned from Earth.

"Almost. Did you get everything?"

"Yup. Right here." she grinned, giving her the herbs and the bottle of oil. Flora busily added them to the potion just as Musa and Charlotte ran back into the room, fully loaded with Tegryn's favourite food.

"Here we go," panted Musa. "The last ingredient... Teggy's favourite food."

"Chocolate!" Stella gasped. "Surely you're not going to put all THAT in the mix? He'll get fat!"

"We can worry about his waistline later." said Musa as she and Charlotte added the lot to the potion. "There... finished!"

Tecna sniffed the potion and nearly choked. "Phew! Are you sure this is going to work?"

"We don't have any choice, we have to try it... well, Teggy has to anyway."

Just then, Mirta walked into the room.

"Ah, Mirta - how did it go with Discorda?"

"Fine," she replied. "She said we should head up to Cloud Tower as soon as we're ready, and then she'll get him to come to us."

Flora poured the potion into two flasks. "Now then, we all need to be absolutely clear on what we have to do. Everyone gather round."

The friends formed a huddle as they discussed their plan of action. They knew full well that getting Tegryn to drink the potion AND have the spell cast on him wasn't going to be easy - they had to be very well prepared.

"Okay? Is everybody ready?"

Everyone nodded.

"Then let's do it." 


	31. A Sickening Attack

_'Why don't you go to Cloud Tower?'_

Damn it. Tegryn was trying to take a well-earned nap after spending the day brushing up on being dark and nasty (although to his credit, he'd resisted the temptation to be nasty to a cute little duckling that seemed particularly fond of Icy), but this one little nagging thought had been disturbing him for the last five minutes or so.

_'Why don't you go to Cloud Tower?'_

Damn it, there it is again. Is five minutes of shut-eye really too much to ask? Just quit bugging me.

_'Why don't you go to Cloud Tower?'_

Alright, alright - if you're so insistent, I'll go to Cloud Tower... just shut up already.

He got up with a growl, and set off looking for his new 'friends'. He soon found them having their dinner.

"Hey... why don't we go to Cloud Tower?"

They looked up at him, puzzled.

"Why would we want to do that?"

"I dunno, just seemed like a good idea."

"Hmmm..." Icy pondered with a scheming look on her face. "Maybe it is a good idea - after all, you're in league with that pixie Discorda, aren't you? It might make it a bit easier to get her part of the Codex."

"Yes," said Darcy. "And if she doesn't hand it over, the four of us should be more than enough to get what we want. There'll be no stopping us!"

"Heh," smirked Tegryn. "Aren't you glad I joined you now? Come on then, let's go."

Soon enough, the four arrived at their destination. "Discorda!" Tegryn bellowed at the top of his voice, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "Discorda! Get out here NOW!"

Discorda's tiny figure stepped out of the shadows. She looked at the company her apprentice was keeping and gave a grunt of disapproval. "I heard the rumours but I was really hoping they weren't true - sadly I was mistaken. Anyway, what brings you here?"

"I would've thought you'd have guessed by now - we want the Codex. You can save yourself a lot of trouble by handing it over right now - you can't take all four of us on!"

"Perhaps not on my own," Discorda started, "But luckily for me we're not the only ones here." At that cue, the fairies and specialists emerged behind the Cloud Tower pixie.

Tegryn smiled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were expecting us... how very perceptive of you." Then finally it dawned on him. "Ah! It was you who was planting that suggestion in my head just now, wasn't it? You planned to lure me here - why?"

Musa stepped forward. "I told you I wouldn't give up on you."

"Hmmph! And I told you we were finished the moment you and that creep Riven started fooling around behind my back."

"Creep?" snarled Riven as he stepped forward. "Just listen, okay? I was hypnotised into falling for Musa, and besides, it wasn't even Musa that I was kissing back there - in fact, it was probably her," he said, jabbing his finger in Darcy's direction. "Don't you get it? Musa loves YOU, not me, and the sooner you get that into your thick head, the better!"

Tegryn fixed Riven with a ferocious look that could kïll, his features filled with pure hatred and darkening by the second. "You dare to speak to me like that after what you did? You're gonna pay for that, big time..." he thundered, summoning his dark powers as he did so. "RAGE BLAST!"

"Teggy! No!" cried Musa, but it was too late. Tegryn's blast, amplified by the dark bracelet and the pure loathing he had built up inside of him, slammed into Riven and sent him flying into the wall behind him with sickening force. Riven collapsed to the ground in a heap of broken bones.

"RIVEN!" Charlotte cried as she rushed over to her stricken boyfriend. She looked up at Tegryn with tear-filled eyes. "Teggy, what's wrong with you? How could you do that?"

He looked down at them in disgust. "That's nothing compared to what he did to me... and YOU, in case you've forgotten."

"But he's innocent - he's already told you, he was hypnotised! How many more times do we have to tell you? Why can't you see you've been tricked? Why don't you listen?" she sobbed.

Tegryn snorted. "So they've taken you in with their lies as well, have they? You've decided to side with them against me - and I used to think you were my best friend. How you can stand by him after his betrayal really is beyond me."

"Enough fooling around!" snapped Icy impatiently as the three witches stepped menacingly forward. "Much as we would love to see these pixies get pasted, we came here for the Codex, not to mess around with these dweebs."

"Yes, don't make it harder on yourselves," Stormy sneered. "We're going to get it one way or another, and when we do, we'll be all-powerful! Nothing will be able to stop us - that power will be OURS!"

Stormy's ranting got Tegryn thinking - all-powerful, eh? Why should that power be shared when it could belong to him, and him alone?

"Ours? OURS? Hmph... I don't think so."

"What?" Darcy snapped, as they turned round and glared at their comrade.

Tegryn chuckled menacingly. "What was it you girls said to me back in the Hex Café? Ah yes... be as evil, as nasty, and as selfish as I want, wasn't it? You know what? I'm gonna take that advice and keep the Codex for myself!"

"Why you dirty, sneaky little..."

"Don't get me wrong girls, I'm ever so grateful for your help... but now you've outlived your usefulness. Goodbye!" Tegryn waved as he conjured up a portal beneath their feet. He looked on with a wicked sense of satisfaction as they disappeared, screaming obscenities at him as they did so.

"Now then, where were we? Ah yes, the Codex. Hand it over and I'll be on my way."

"I don't think so," said Sky as he, Brandon, Timmy and Helia confronted him with their weapons drawn. "You'll be sorry for what you did to Riven. Prepare yourself!"


	32. Tegryn vs The Specialists

Tegryn looked at Sky with a look of dark pleasure on his face. "The four of you want to take me on, even though none of you have any magical powers? How amusing!" he said with a smirk. "Very well then, I will fight you... and what's more, I'll bring myself down to your level and fight you with my body alone. BRING IT ON!"

Sky didn't need a second invite. He lunged forward at Tegryn with his sword, striking at him with deadly speed.

"Whoa!" Tegryn said as he effortlessly ducked Sky's high swings. The hero swung again and again, but Tegryn still managed to dodge his blows easily, before somehow catching the blade between his two hands.

"And just what do you think you're trying to do - cut my head off?" he sneered. "I don't think 'my darling' Musa would like that very much!"

The young prince glared at Tegryn. "You're right - we'll do this hand-to-hand" he said as he reluctantly bent down to lay his sword on the floor.

Tegryn smiled and looked at the other heroes. "I do hope the rest of you will follow his fine example."

Sky looked away from Tegryn towards his friends and nodded reluctantly... that was just the opening Tegryn was looking for.

"You fool!" he yelled as he caught Sky full on the face with a powerful right hook, allowing his momentum to spin him around and hitting Sky with a left elbow to the ribs, before completing his rotation with a crunching right uppercut. The triple combination attack left Sky staggering backwards and he fell to the ground, dazed.

"You dared to take your eyes off me in the middle of a fight, and now you've paid for it!"

"You dirty cheat!" cried Brandon as he leapt forward swiping at his opponent. Tegryn flipped over backwards, but instead of completing the backflip, he instead used all his upper arm strength to propel himself forwards again. The perfectly executed handspring kick struck Brandon square in the face, quickly flooring him.

Tegryn, Timmy and Helia squared off. Timmy took out a stun pistol, took aim and fired repeatedly. Tegryn dodged the shots, first left, then right, edging closer and closer until he was near enough to catch him with a low sweeping kick. Timmy fell heavily as his feet were taken away from under him, but was quickly picked up by the collar by Tegryn who then proceeded to throw him over his shoulder with great force.

Tegryn looked on triumphantly as Timmy was sent sprawling, but that triumph was short-lived as a he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He looked over to see that Helia had caught him with a blow from his laser string glove. Tegryn tutted as he touched the fresh wound and looked at his blood-stained fingers. "Do you really think that poxy little toy will stop me?"

Helia took aim and sent another lash in Tegryn's direction, but he easily leapt over it and caught Helia on the cheek with a thundering flying kick, knocking him senseless.

Tegryn looked around at the fallen heroes and laughed. "Hah! Even without my powers, I'm still too good for you!" He then looked over at the Winx and Starz. "And what about you girls? What you plan on doing now I've taken out your boys?" 


	33. The Fairies Enter The Fray

The girls looked on horrified at the ease with which the Specialists were beaten.

Tegryn chuckled. "Not a pretty sight, is it?" he taunted as he conjured up a dark fireball in his hand and tossed it up and down in the air in a nonchalant fashion. "And don't think for a minute I'll be going easy on you lot neither - anyone who gets in my way deserves everything they get, and these boys have just found that out the hard way!"

But despite all his bragging and swagger, Musa was neither impressed not intimidated. "We know that's not the real you talking," she said with a steely determination, "And we didn't come here to fight you neither, we just want you back the way you were."

"Heh. And how are you going to do that? Erase my memory?"

"No... we finished your potion, the one you started with Ms Griselda."

"Ah, I see. So all I have to do is stand around, drink a potion that wasn't even completed and let you cast an untested spell on me! Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

"Well, thats what we're gonna do, and if we have to do things the hard way to get the real you back then that's what we're prepared to do, even if it means beating you to within an inch of your life."

"Really?" said Tegryn raising his eyebrows. "Well if that's the way you want it, let's see how you handle THIS!" With that, he hurled the fireball into the group standing before him. The fairies flung themselves out of the way just in time, as it exploded with a huge dark purple flame, sending chunks of stone flying and shockwaves reverberating through the chamber.

Seeing all that debris gave Tegryn an evil idea. Using his telekinetic powers, he picked the rubble up then rather cruelly started to pelt the fairies with it. The girls huddled behind Mimi and Nini, whose Harmonic Shield spell was more than enough to handle a few stones.

"Come on girls, we can't just keep hiding from him all day - it's now or never," cried Bloom as she unleashed a volley of fireballs at Tegryn. He didn't flinch, but just stood there laughing as they exploded harmlessly against his personal shield spell. The others took their cue to attack simultaneously, but to no effect - even Discorda's best efforts went unrewarded.

"This is hopeless!" cried Layla, "How are we supposed to get through that shield?"

"Exactly," Tegryn shouted arrogantly as he heard this. "It IS hopeless! You can't beat me, so just give me what I want!"

His gloating was cut short by a rather strong blast impacting into his side, briefly staggering him. Looking over, he saw Stella brandishing her sceptre.

"Hmmm... that's an interesting looking toy you've got there - do you mind if I have a go?"

With that, he snatched it out of her grasp using his telekinesis powers. Stella yelped and winced in pain as the sceptre of Solaria was wrenched from her hands, jarring her shoulder.

"Very nice... let's see how well it works." he said, sending a couple of shots into his opponents. The fairies scattered, except for Tecna who stood firm behind her Firewall Shield. Bravely, she withstood two direct hits before she was knocked off her feet by a third.

Bloom had had enough - she stood up and confronted Tegryn. "I wish I didn't have to do use this against you," she said despondently, "But you've given me no choice."

Tegryn looked on as Bloom started to gather her awesome power in typically spectacular fashion.

"Ah, this must be Dragonfire that those witches kept wibbling on about... now THIS should be interesting." 


	34. The Tide Turns

Bloom stared at Tegryn with fire burning in her eyes (and indeed all around her), before raising her hand and unleashing a triple-volley of fireballs at him. He stood his ground as before, arrogantly underestimating her power. The first two hit him full on the chest, making him drop the sceptre and sending him staggering. However, he was able to regain his footing just in time to block the third, which sent him skidding backwards about twenty yards.

He looked at her and laughed. "Hah! Is that all you've got? Come on girl, try harder!"

"Okay, you asked for it," came Bloom's reply as she mustered all her strength into producing one ultra-powerful shot. A ball of energy materialised between her hands, growing quickly in size and intensity, burning so bright that it was impossible to look at, until finally she let it fly. It screamed towards him at incredible speed, leaving a scorching streak of flame in its wake.

Tegryn readied himself, bringing his hands together out in front of him. With an evil smile on his face, he cried out "Magic Mirror!" He slowly moved his hands apart, revealing a shimmering white disc between them. The fireball struck it with full force, but was instantly deflected back at full speed by his mirror spell.

"What?" said Bloom, startled. Surprised by this unexpected counter-attack, she tried to evade her own fireball but was sent flying by its sheer ferocity. She groaned as she tried to pick herself up off the floor, her outfit smouldering from the heat.

Tegryn's manic laughter rang through the chamber. "What's the matter - weren't you expecting that?" he taunted. "You lot have hit me with your best shots, but I'm still standing - so what are you going to do NOW?""

Things were getting desperate, but despite the despondency creeping into the fairies a flash of inspiration came to Mimi. She whispered to her sister. "Wait a minute... nothing's getting through his shield spell - except sound!"

A smile broke out across Nini's lips. "So you're thinking what I'm thinking?"

"As always!"

The twins clasped their hands together and faced Tegryn. "DOUBLE SINE WAVE!" they cried as they let rip with their trademark attack.

Tegryn clasped his hands over his ears in a vain attempt to block the ear-splitting noise, but it was hopeless - the pressure of the sound was too intense. It felt as though his head was going to explode... but amidst the agonising noise, an idea came to him - raising one hand, he cried out "Sound Bubble!" and all fell silent as the sisters' attack was neatly contained in the soundproof spell. The twins called upon every ounce of their power, but to no avail - try as they might, they couldn't penetrate it.

"Heh!" he sniggered, staring at Musa. "Thank you so much for teaching me that spell - I always knew it would come in handy!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. You may be more powerful now, but that spell isn't - it's not meant to be used in combat, as you're about to find out." Musa said as she walked over to the twins and took Nini's hand in her own. "Ready?"

The twins nodded.

"TRIPLE SINE WAVE!"

The three Melody fairies unleashed their attack with every reserve of their strength. Tegryn coped easily at first, but he was soon struggling to hold his defences together. He strained to keep the sound bubble intact but it soon shattered, and once again he was floored, at the mercy of the piercing noise of their audio assault.

As he knelt on the floor in agony, Bloom shouted out "Okay, he's down! This is our chance!"

The final phase of the plan was about to take place. 


	35. Purification

Anyuna stepped forward. "Remember," Bloom said to her, "He must be awake for the spell to work." 

"I know, no rest for the wicked!" she replied with good humour. "I'll give him just enough to make him groggy." With a cry of "Dream Dust!", a small sparkling cloud quickly surrounded Tegryn, who was still reeling from the Triple Sine Wave. Unaware of what was happening, the spell quickly took effect and his head began to swim.

Removing the ribbon from her hair, Charlotte began to muster her fearsome Fire Storm. Slowly, currents of air began circulating around Tegryn, growing ever hotter and more intense until the air itself glowed red and burst into flame. Using her mastery of fire magic, Bloom manipulated the wall of flame so that it closed in above Tegryn's head, trapping him inside a blazing dome. There was no escape.

Seeing that their preparations were complete, Flora took one of the flasks of potion and opened it. Calling on all her expertise in fluid manipulation, Layla lifted the potion out of its container and slowly moved it towards Tegryn. As it neared the dome of fire, the ball of liquid began to boil and bubble, hissing and spitting as it touched its searing walls, but Layla was easily able to hold it together. Pushing it through the walls, she released her hold on the potion in order to allow it to turn into a cloud of steam, then steered it until it enveloped Tegryn's head.

Caught in the stifling, searing heat of the Fire Storm, Tegryn had no choice but to take in deep breaths. Unaware, he inhaled the vapours, and the potion began to take effect - slowly, his wickedness started to give way to compassion, his hatred started to give way to love, and his arrogance gave way to fear. But that wasn't all... the combined effects of the extreme heat, the potion and the Dream Dust started to play tricks with his mind. Twisted evil faces began to appear in the swirling flames, laughing at him, taunting him, reaching out to devour him with their jagged teeth. He screamed in terror, trying in vain to get away, but it was no use - he was completely surrounded.

Hearing his horrified shouts, Charlotte stopped her spell, and the flaming dome soon disappeared. "Okay Flora, now!" she shouted. At Flora's command, dozens of vines shot up out of the ground, wrapping themselves around his arms and legs, dragging him down and pinning him flat on his back. He struggled to get free, but it was hopeless in his weakened state. Taking the second flask, Flora ran over to him and gave him the potion to drink - he refused at first, but with a bit of friendly persuasion in the form of Sky forcing his mouth open, he soon began to drink. He grimaced as the vile-tasting liquid sluiced its way into his stomach.

The enhanced effects of the potion soon began to course through his body, and now it was time for the spell to be performed. The friends stood in a circle around Tegryn whilst Musa knelt down beside him and placed her hand tenderly on his chest. She looked deep into his eyes and shed a tear - she could feel his heart beating quicker and quicker.

"What's happening?" he grunted, straining to free himself. "What are you doing to me?"

"Just chill babe," she said softly, trying her best to reassure him. "This'll all be over soon. You guys ready?"

She pulled out a scrap of paper, and together they read out the spell.

_By the light of the full moon's wane,  
Cleanse his soul of taint and stain.  
Let now these hurtful spells reverse,  
And lift from him this vicious curse.  
As he enters now this blessed space,  
Return his spirit to it's former grace._

As the incantation was completed, Tegryn was suddenly enveloped by a soft white glow. Flora released him from the clutches of her vines. Shakily he stood up as the glow grew more and more intense, until he stood bolt upright, his head bent back, and he emitted a blood-curdling yell. The glow around him became blinding, and clouds of what appeared to be thick black-purple smoke began billowing out of his mouth.

"What's happening to him?" gasped Musa, horrified.

"It's working!" said Flora. "The dark magic is being expelled from his body. We did it!"

The flow of purple smoke continued until eventually it died out and melted away into nothing above their heads. The powerful shining died away and Tegryn slumped to the floor, panting.

All was silent...


	36. Flames Of Fear

"Teggy? Are you okay?"

Musa tentatively walked over and slung his arm around her shoulder as she helped him stand up. She could feel him trembling, and his skin felt cold.

"It's okay... it's all over."

He looked at her, completely exhausted - she was truly a sight for sore eyes, and as he gazed upon her, his past feelings for her began to resurface. Musa gave a small smile as she recognised the kind spark that she knew and loved. He then looked at the others, and he was horrified by what he saw - piles of debris strewn all over the place, Bloom bruised and singed, Stella nursing her injured shoulder, the Specialists bloodied and beaten, and...

"Riven?"

He looked over at his friend, who was struggling to his feet with Charlotte's help despite his broken ribs and fractured arm.

"Oh no..." he whispered.

He took his arm from around Musa's shoulder and started to back away.

"No! What have I done?" he said, his voice quivering as he stood staring at his own hands in disbelief.

"Teggy, it's not your fault." "We understand." "Yes, we know what happened." "You're not responsible for this."

Everyone did their best to reassure him, but in his tired, confused state, he just couldn't take it in. He staggered backwards until he was up against a wall.

"Teggy, please calm down, it's okay." said Musa, getting more concerned with each passing moment. But he wasn't listening - instead he stared upwards, transfixed by a nearby torch. Its flame seemed to be getting bigger and brighter, as though it was threatening to reach out and take him. Panic trickled into his soul.

"No! Get away!" he yelled up at the flame.

"Teggy!"

"NO!"

In his terror he turned and started to sprint away, but just as he was about to exit the chamber, a portal opened up in front of him. Frantically he tried hard to stop but it was too late - once again, just when Musa thought she had her beloved back by her side, he was gone.

Musa looked on, shocked. Discorda smiled. "There," she said with a great deal of satisfaction.

"Discorda? Did YOU do that?" Musa asked. The pixie nodded.

"But... why? I was so close to getting him back. Why would you do that?"

"I'm making sure this never happens again. Don't worry - he's perfectly safe."

"But where is he?"

Discorda chuckled. "I'm sure he'll be very happy to tell you when he gets back to Alfea."

Musa sighed with disappointment.

"Come on," said Bloom as she put her arm around her friend. "There's nothing else we can do here - let's go home." She turned to Discorda. "Thanks so much for your help - we couldn't have done this without you."

"That's perfectly alright. Believe it or not, I'm just as concerned for him as you are - that's why I did what I did. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you see for yourself!"

And so the friends said their goodbyes and made their way home. Musa sighed again - there was no point getting upset or angry. All she could do now was sit and wait. 


	37. An Urgent Invitation

A few days had passed, and poor Musa was getting all fidgety waiting for her guy to show up again. Her cause wasn't helped by the weather - it was the weekend, but as nature has a habit of doing a heavy April shower had been doing its thing all day. She sat staring out of the window into Alfea's courtyard - if her Tegryn was to come walking into the castle, she certainly didn't want to miss it. 

The others were all sat in the lounge with her - Stella was crashed out on the sofa reading her fashion magazines, Tecna was busy browsing the web for anything interesting, and Layla was occupying herself playing with Piff.

"Man, I'm so bored," said Bloom. "This weather sucks!"

Layla shrugged her shoulders. "Rain doesn't bother me."

"Of course it wouldn't bother you, you're a water fairy!" laughed Stella. "Besides, your hair isn't quite as fabulous as mine so it doesn't matter if you get it wet!"

"Hey!" shouted Layla as she hurled the nearest available cushion at Stella.

"Oh, you're gonna get it now!" Stella said, flinging it back. That was the cue for a rather jolly pillow fight, but their fun and laughter was suddenly interrupted by a loud knock at the door. Flora answered it.

"Oh. That's odd, there's no-one here." she said confused, but just as she was about to close the door, she noticed a folded piece of paper laying on the floor.

"Hello, what's this?" She picked it up and read it:

_**URGENT!**_

_Please come to the Dining Hall IMMEDIATELY!_

_PS: Did I mention this was **URGENT**?_

"Ooh, sounds urgent."

"Shall we check it out?"

"Well, there's nothing else to do, is there?"

And so they walked down to the main dining hall. As they approached it, they noticed the Starz walking in the same direction.

"Hey guys," Bloom called out to them. "What are you up to?"

"We got a message saying we should go to the dining hall," said Anyuna holding out a piece of paper - it was almost identical to the Winx's letter.

"Oooh, it's a party and we're all invited!" said Stella excitedly.

"A party, eh?" said Tecna. "So what are THEY doing here?"

Just ahead of them, they could see Faragonda and Griselda - they also seemed to be heading the same way.

"Hi!" said Bloom jogging up to them. "Ummm, don't tell me - you got a note saying you should come to the dining hall straight away, right?"

"Well, yes... how did you know?" Faragonda replied as she showed them an identical letter. "We were in the staffroom discussing lessons for the week ahead, when we were disturbed by a knock on the door, but when I opened it there was no-one there - just this letter!"

"Same here - well, except we weren't discussing lessons."

"No," said Layla laughing and nudging Stella, "We had more important things to do!"

"Well, here we are! Somebody has obviously gone to a lot of trouble to get us here together, so shall we?"

They opened the doors and walked in. At the end of one of the tables sat Sky, Brandon, Timmy, Riven and Helia.

"Hi guys!" said Bloom happily (seeing Sky always made her day). "You didn't have to go to all this trouble for us. Why did you bring us here anyway?"

Sky chuckled. "Oh, this is nothing to do with us - we're guests here too!"

"So who's..."

"Ah there you are!" came a friendly call from the direction of the kitchen. "I hope you're all hungry, we've been rather busy here!"

They looked over to see a welcome figure wheeling a hostess trolley laden with freshly-cooked food.

"Teggy?" asked Musa, barely able to contain herself. "TEGGY!"


	38. Beautiful Together

Musa sprinted eagerly over to him and into his arms, giving him the mother of all hugs along with a much-overdue kiss. It felt so good to have him back, and there was no way she was letting go of him again. Then again, Musa couldn't have let go even if she wanted to, simply because Tegryn wouldn't have let her - her kisses had never felt so sweet. They only stopped due to the others crowding around them, all wanting to give their greetings. 

After enjoying this most welcome of welcomes, Tegryn motioned to the others. "Please, sit down. You're just in time for dinner!" As they did so, he wheeled the trolley around and unveiled two large bowls, one containing freshly-cooked rice, and the other containing a rather sumptuous-looking stir-fry.

"Wow! That smells gorgeous!"

He happily dished out generous portions, first to Musa and Charlotte, then the other girls, Faragonda and Griselda, the boys, and finally himself - luckily, he had made just enough.

"Did you make this yourself?" asked Bloom.

"Yep." he replied.

"But why did you go to all this trouble?"

"I've been acting like a right jerk these past few days and I've hurt a lot of people. I figured I owe everyone a LOT of apologies, and this was a good way to start. I'm just glad everyone was able to make it, especially Riven - it's a good job he's as tough as nails! Ooh, before I forget, I have a little something for Musa... well, my friend has anyway. Now then, where is she? Polli?"

"Polli?" Mimi whispered to Nini. "Who's Polli?"

"Ah, there she is!" he said, looking over to a large pair eyes peeping out from behind a table. "It's okay, these are my friends. And this is Musa - you know, the REALLY nice one I was telling you about."

Warily, a cute little pixie with curly brown hair and dressed in a black and white outfit came out from behind the table, before zipping over and hiding behind Tegryn, clutching his arm. She was holding a small white envelope.

"That's it, let Musa have it." Polli coyly went over to Musa and handed her the envelope before racing back to Tegryn.

"Why thank you" she said politely. "Awww, she's so cute!"

"Ain't she just?" he said. "She's very shy though."

"So how did you meet her."

"I get the feeling Discorda had something to do with it."

"Probably," Stella interrupted. "And don't forget - you owe her a shopping trip!"

"How could I forget?" he replied smiling. "Anyway, as I tried to run away from you guys back in Cloud Tower, you probably saw that portal opening. Well, as I passed through it, I found myself in a strange little village, full of pixies. They looked after me for a day of two, and that's when I was introduced to my little friend here. Her name's Polli - I guess as in Polygraph."

"Poly-what?"

"Polygraph - you know, a lie detector. I tell you, it's shame I didn't meet her sooner - all of this mess could've been avoided."

"How come?"

"She's a pixie of truth - she can tell instantly if someone is telling a lie. Go on, try it."

"Umm, okay. Let's see... this morning, Stella had 27 doughnuts for breakfast!"

"Oi!"

"Eep!" Polli let out a tiny squeak, then hopped up onto Tegryn's shoulder and started to whisper in his ear. A shocked expression slowly crept onto his face.

"Wow!" he gasped unconvincingly. "She says you were telling the truth!"

"Eep!" She squeaked, looking at Tegryn with a rather cross expression on her little face.

"Aww, there there Polli - I was only joking!" he said, ruffling her hair affectionately. Then he looked at the card that Musa was still holding.  
"So go on, open it!" he said.

Musa giggled and did as she was asked, and pulled out a card. It had a picture of a rather sad-looking but incredibly cute kitten on the front with 'Sorry' written across the top in big letters. She opened it and read:

_To my darling Musa,_

_I know being as sweet and kind-hearted as you are that you won't blame me for what has happened, but I must say sorry anyway. I said and did a lot of hurtful things to you and to our friends, and it's only because of your incredible love for me that I can write this now._

_Nothing on Earth can ever split us in two,  
Always think of me, I'll always think of you  
And me, meant to be.  
We're beautiful together._

_Loving you forever  
Your Teggy_

Musa sniffed. "Oh, it's beautiful Teggy. Thank you." she said as she hugged him - but then she felt something on her arm. She looked down to see Polli hugging her back.

"Awww, I think she likes you!" he said, sitting down. "Now, please, we really should start eating this before it gets cold!"

The friends tucked into their lovingly prepared meal.

"Wow!" said Bloom between mouthfuls. "This is gorgeous. It's Chinese, right?"

Tegryn nodded. "It's Chicken in Black Bean Sauce."

"Chinese?" asked Griselda. "So you learnt this from your family?"

"Family?" asked Musa. "I never knew you had any family. You've never mentioned it before."

"Yes, I know. I, it's um, well, it's kind of a sore point for me, and I know how sensitive you are on the subject." he said sadly.

"Teggy, it's okay. Please... tell us about them."

"I'd rather not." he replied, stifling a tear. "I mean, there's not really any point, 'cos there's no way I'll ever find them again."

"Oh Teggy, I'm sorry." said Musa, trying her best to comfort him.

"Never mind, you'll just to make do with us as your family." said Charlotte. "To be honest, I kinda see you as a big brother anyway!" The other Starz girls nodded in agreement.

"That's right," Layla added. "You'll never be alone when you're with us!"

"That's so sweet!" he sighed. "I honestly don't know what I'd do without you guys, you've all been too good to me. Friends forever?" he asked, raising his glass of fruit juice.

"Friends forever!" came the emphatic reply.

And so, the homecoming dinner continued happily late into the night, and in amongst all the joyful chatter, Tegryn turned to Musa and kissed her tenderly.

"You know what?" he said lovingly to her. "Do you remember when I said that I would be all yours for a whole week?"

She nodded.

"Well, I kinda have a problem with that."

"What do you mean?"

"I've really REALLY missed you - couldn't we make it TWO weeks instead?"

She laughed and happily embraced him, smothering him with yet more kisses. Upon seeing this, Charlotte turned and whispered into Bloom's ear "You know what? That poem in his card was so true."

"I know," Bloom replied. "They really are beautiful together!"

THE END

--------------------------------------

( PS: I'd love to say I wrote that little poem in Tegryn's card myself, but it's actually a lyric from one of my favourite songs, 'Beautiful Together' by Betty Curse.)


End file.
